Maximilian Goetz

I am currently a Masters Candidate in the Hydrogeology research group, supervised by Roger Beckie.  As a member of the Energy & Environment Research Initiative (EERI), I have been working on projects focused on studying the effects of fugitive natural gas from resource development in groundwater systems, specifically in Northeast BC.  Before starting at UBC, I worked as a site geologist / hydrogeologist at a copper porphyry-skarn mine in New Mexico.  I received my B.Sc. at McGill University in Earth & Planetary Sciences (2014).

My research is centered on the characterization of dissolved methane in groundwater in the Peace Region, Northeast BC (NEBC), using a regional, dedicated groundwater monitoring well network.  During 2018/19, twenty-nine scientifically designed groundwater monitoring wells were strategically installed throughout the Peace Region, primarily in areas of dense energy development.  With sampling and analysis of these newly installed wells ongoing, regional groundwater geochemistry will be comprehensively characterized.  The results will be used to inform appropriate groundwater monitoring strategies in light of continued oil and gas development for the region.

One of my research focuses involves modeling groundwater flow in an archetypical setting of NEBC using MODFLOW-6.  This site-specific study centers on a buried valley (paleovalley) setting, which broadly consists of a bedrock valley infilled with a complex sequence of glacial sediments of varying hydraulic conductivity.  Using data from newly installed EERI monitoring wells (among other sources), several groundwater flow models will be generated to approximate groundwater flow in these complex settings.  Topics of interest include: the interaction between buried valley gravel and shallow fractured bedrock aquifers, residence times of aquifers, and recharge processes through confining till layers.