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Current Projects
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| Collaboration Research: Magnetotelluric
Instrumentation Facility for Electromagnetic Study of the Continents (EMSOC)
PI: Philip Wannamaker Sponsor: NSF/Instrumentation and Facilities This project establishes a national instrument facility for magnetotelluric surveying applied to solid-earth problems, supported by the U.S. NSF. The instrumentation includes custom developments by EGI personnel, a 15-channel commercial MT system, and 20 long-period recorders for mantle level surveying. Collaborative Research: Magnetotelluric Transect of a Modern Continent-Continent Collisional Orogen: Southern Alps, New Zealand PI: Philip Wannamkaer Sponsor: NSF/Continental Dynamics A dense MT profile crossing the New Zealand South Island produced a crustal-scale resistivity cross section through this active compressional orogen, in cooperation with the Univ. of Southern California, San Diego State Univ., Victoria Univ. Wellington, and the NZ IGNS. Resistivity images imply a zone of active fluid production from prograde metamorphism in the lower crust, and transport of fluids to shallower levels along major fore- and backthrusts. Creation of an Enhanced Geothermal System through Thermal Stimulation PI: Peter Rose Phase I and Phase II of a DOE grant to demonstrate that permeability can be enhanced in tight, hot rock using hydraulic stimulation techniques, if appropriate regional tectonic conditions exist. Enhanced Data Acquisition and Inversion for Electrical Resistivity Structure in Geothermal Exploration and Reservoir Assessment PI: Philip Wannamaker Sponsor: DOE/OWGT This project develops 2-D and 3-D modeling and inversion algorithms, and new-generation data acquisition and processing platforms, for imaging subsurface electrical resistivity and fluid regimes in geothermal systems. Field surveys to test this imaging and processing will be carried out in geothermal systems of the western U.S. Evaluation of State of the Art in Three-Dimensional Electromagnetic Modeling for Geothermal Exploration and Monitoring PI: Philip Wannamaker Sponsor: Maxwell Technologies Inc. A global survey of available computer simulation algorithms for 3-D electromagnetic modeling generated a narrow field of three algorithms suitable for long-term monitoring of geothermal reservoir electrical properties during production. Test calculations for accuracy and speed led to selection of a single, optimal candidate for future development. Imaging Tools for Electrical Resistivity Structure in Geothermal Exploration PI: Philip Wannamaker Sponsor: DOE/OWGT Modeling and inversion methods developed for surface exploration of geothermal systems will be modified and augmented for application to data acquired down boreholes. Emphasis is placed on focused electrical arrays downhole. Improved Technologies for geothermal Resource Evaluation PI: Gregory D. Nash Sponsor: DOE Remote sensing data, including hyperspectral, multispectral, panchromatic, and thermal, are being tested and used to map geologic structure and mineralogy in an effort to better characterize the geology of geothermal systems. Hyperspectral data is also being tested and used to map subtle surficial expressions of hydrothermal convection systems, including associated soil and vegetation anomalies, to develop exploration techniques for hidden systems. Additionally, precision gravimetry is being tested for applicability in reservoir engineering and management and geographic information systems (GIS) are being utilized as a tool for data integration, visualization, analysis, dissemination, and archiving. Geochemical Monitoring of the Coso geothermal system China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) PI: Mike Adams Sponsor: China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) This study has been funded to define and interpret any chemical changes that have occurred in the Coso reservoir and Coso Hot Springs as a result of production. Greatly Enhanced Detectability of Geothermal Tracers through Laser-Induced Fluorescence PI: Peter Rose A DOE-sponsored project to develop and demonstrate the use of laser-induced fluorescence for HPLC detection of fluorescein and fluorescein derivatives, which can serve as tracers in geothermal reservoirs. The Development of Tools for Managing Injection in Geothermal Reservoirs PI: Peter Rose A DOE-sponsored project to develop high-temperature tracers for geothermal applications. The grant also supports work to investigate the use of non-fluorescent dyes that can be detected by absorption spectroscopy, with expected application in a field-based detection method. Thermal and Fluid State of the Lithosphere beneath South Pole Region, East Antartica, from Magnetotelluric Measurments PI: Philip Wannamaker Sponsor: NSF/Office of Polar Programs EGI personnel achieved the first MT soundings of the Antarctic interior including the South Pole region, using a novel electrometer design to make microvolt-level measurements on the thick (3 km) ice sheets. Initial interpretations reveal a thick, variable sedimentary section beneath the South Pole and a thermally active lower crust and upper mantle supporting the high elevations. Tracer Study at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory Radioactive Waste Management Center (RWMC) PI: Peter Rose A USGS-supported project to demonstrate that tracers developed for geothermal applications could also be used to tag river run-off flowing through fractured basalt adjacent Tracing Geothermal Fluids PI: Mike Adams Sponsor: DOE This study has been funded to develop and test steam and two-phase tracers. Some additional goals of this project are to develop interpretation methods for steam tracers, automate the process of tracer test interpretation using geographic information systems, and produce a special issue of Geothermics devoted to geothermal tracers. Two-Dimensional Inversion of Mt Array Profiling Data PI: Philip Wannamaker Sponsor: Quantec Geoscience Inc. Generic modeling and inversion software for the magnetotelluric (MT) method has been adapted to dense, small-scale arrays suitable for mineral prospecting. Tests have been conducted on new survey data taken in the Nevada Carlin trend. Magnetotelluric Techniques for Mineral Resource Techniques for Mineral Resource Investigations in the Great Basin of Utah and Nevada PI: Philip Wannamakwe Sponsor: U.S.G.S. Larger-scale MT profiling is aimed at establishing the possibility of deep electrical resistivity lineaments associated with the Carlin gold trend of the Great Basin. The work merges EGI efforts concentrated in the Ruby Mountains area of Nevada with neighboring surveys of the U.S.G.S. X-ray Diffraction and Petrographic Lab P.I. Susan J. Lutz Sponsor: DOE and private geothermal companies X-ray Diffraction and Petrographic Analyses- Mineralogical and chemical analyses of geologic materials (rocks, drill cuttings, soils) using a variety of analytical techniques. The lab primarily analyzes core and well cuttings from known geothermal areas with the interpretation of X-ray diffraction results and optical microscopy analyses performed at our in-house lab. Occasional, we also perform scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe, and ICP-MS stable isotope analyses at various labs on the main University of Utah campus. The results of these analyses are used as technical/analytical support for our geothermal research projects, and for geothermal or engineering companies on a proprietary, pay-per-sample basis. |