Articles | Volume 9, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-953-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-953-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
23 Jul 2018
Research article |
| 23 Jul 2018
| 23 Jul 2018
From oil field to geothermal reservoir: assessment for geothermal utilization of two regionally extensive Devonian carbonate aquifers in Alberta, Canada
Leandra M. Weydt
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geothermal Science and Technology, Technische
Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 9, 64287 Darmstadt,
Germany
Claus-Dieter J. Heldmann
Department of Geothermal Science and Technology, Technische
Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 9, 64287 Darmstadt,
Germany
Hans G. Machel
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
T6G 2E3, Canada
Ingo Sass
Department of Geothermal Science and Technology, Technische
Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstraße 9, 64287 Darmstadt,
Germany
Darmstadt Graduate School of Excellence Energy Science and
Engineering, Jovanka-Bontschits-Straße 2, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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Leandra M. Weydt, Ángel Andrés Ramírez-Guzmán, Antonio Pola, Baptiste Lepillier, Juliane Kummerow, Giuseppe Mandrone, Cesare Comina, Paromita Deb, Gianluca Norini, Eduardo Gonzalez-Partida, Denis Ramón Avellán, José Luis Macías, Kristian Bär, and Ingo Sass
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Petrophysical and mechanical rock properties are essential for reservoir characterization of the deep subsurface and are commonly used for the population of numerical models or the interpretation of geophysical data. The database presented here aims at providing easily accessible information on rock properties and chemical analyses complemented by extensive metadata (location, stratigraphy, petrography) covering volcanic, sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks from Jurassic to Holocene age.
Leandra M. Weydt, Kristian Bär, Chiara Colombero, Cesare Comina, Paromita Deb, Baptiste Lepillier, Giuseppe Mandrone, Harald Milsch, Christopher A. Rochelle, Federico Vagnon, and Ingo Sass
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The assessement of fracture networks is a key element for underground reservoir studies. The available methods for such assessement are unfortunately very limited in the case of complex 3 dimensions geometries. The paper shows a new method to overcome these limitations through automatic detection from images of outcrops.
Matthis Frey, Claire Bossennec, Lukas Seib, Kristian Bär, Eva Schill, and Ingo Sass
Solid Earth, 13, 935–955, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-935-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-935-2022, 2022
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The crystalline basement is considered a ubiquitous and almost inexhaustible source of geothermal energy in the Upper Rhine Graben. Interdisciplinary investigations of relevant reservoir properties were carried out on analogous rocks in the Odenwald. The highest hydraulic conductivities are expected near large-scale fault zones. In addition, the combination of structural geological and geophysical methods allows a refined mapping of potentially permeable zones.
Rafael Schäffer, Kristian Bär, Sebastian Fischer, Johann-Gerhard Fritsche, and Ingo Sass
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4847–4860, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4847-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4847-2021, 2021
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Knowledge of groundwater properties is relevant, e.g. for drinking-water supply, spas or geothermal energy. We compiled 1035 groundwater datasets from 560 springs or wells sampled since 1810, using mainly publications, supplemented by personal communication and our own measurements. The data can help address spatial–temporal variation in groundwater composition, uncertainties in groundwater property prediction, deep groundwater movement, or groundwater characteristics like temperature and age.
Sebastian Weinert, Kristian Bär, and Ingo Sass
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 1441–1459, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1441-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1441-2021, 2021
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Physical rock properties are a key element for resource exploration, the interpretation of results from geophysical methods or the parameterization of physical or geological models. Despite the need for physical rock properties, data are still very scarce and often not available for the area of interest. The database presented aims to provide easy access to physical rock properties measured at 224 locations in Bavaria, Hessen, Rhineland-Palatinate and Thuringia (Germany).
Leandra M. Weydt, Ángel Andrés Ramírez-Guzmán, Antonio Pola, Baptiste Lepillier, Juliane Kummerow, Giuseppe Mandrone, Cesare Comina, Paromita Deb, Gianluca Norini, Eduardo Gonzalez-Partida, Denis Ramón Avellán, José Luis Macías, Kristian Bär, and Ingo Sass
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 571–598, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-571-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-571-2021, 2021
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Petrophysical and mechanical rock properties are essential for reservoir characterization of the deep subsurface and are commonly used for the population of numerical models or the interpretation of geophysical data. The database presented here aims at providing easily accessible information on rock properties and chemical analyses complemented by extensive metadata (location, stratigraphy, petrography) covering volcanic, sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks from Jurassic to Holocene age.
Swarup Chauhan, Kathleen Sell, Wolfram Rühaak, Thorsten Wille, and Ingo Sass
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 315–334, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-315-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-315-2020, 2020
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We present CobWeb 1.0, a graphical user interface for analysing tomographic images of geomaterials. CobWeb offers different machine learning techniques for accurate multiphase image segmentation and visualizing material specific parameters such as pore size distribution, relative porosity and volume fraction. We demonstrate a novel approach of dual filtration and dual segmentation to eliminate edge enhancement artefact in synchrotron-tomographic datasets and provide the computational code.
Leandra M. Weydt, Kristian Bär, Chiara Colombero, Cesare Comina, Paromita Deb, Baptiste Lepillier, Giuseppe Mandrone, Harald Milsch, Christopher A. Rochelle, Federico Vagnon, and Ingo Sass
Adv. Geosci., 45, 281–287, https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-45-281-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-45-281-2018, 2018
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The here submitted paper represents the first results of a larger project named
GEMex. The objective of the project – a Mexican–European cooperation – is to explore the geothermal potential of deep unconventional systems like enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) and super-hot geothermal systems (SHGS). New exploitation approaches and technologies are being developed, allowing the use of geothermal resources under challenging technical demands.
Meike Hintze, Barbara Plasse, Kristian Bär, and Ingo Sass
Adv. Geosci., 45, 251–258, https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-45-251-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-45-251-2018, 2018
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The presented study is conducted within the scope of the joint research project "Hessen 3D 2.0" (BMWI-FKZ: 0325944) and aims at assessing the hydrothermal potential of the Pechelbronn Group for direct heat use by means of an integrated 3-D structural-geothermal model that serves to locate potential exploration areas. The assessment is based on reservoir temperature, (net)thickness of the reservoir horizon as well as on petrophysical, thermal and hydraulic rock properties.
Swarup Chauhan, Wolfram Rühaak, Hauke Anbergen, Alen Kabdenov, Marcus Freise, Thorsten Wille, and Ingo Sass
Solid Earth, 7, 1125–1139, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-7-1125-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-7-1125-2016, 2016
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Machine learning techniques are a promising alternative for processing (phase segmentation) of 3-D X-ray computer tomographic rock images. Here the performance and accuracy of different machine learning techniques are tested. The aim is to classify pore space, rock grains and matrix of four distinct rock samples. The porosity obtained based on the segmented XCT images is cross-validated with laboratory measurements. Accuracies of the different methods are discussed and recommendations proposed.
S. Homuth, A. E. Götz, and I. Sass
Geoth. Energ. Sci., 3, 41–49, https://doi.org/10.5194/gtes-3-41-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gtes-3-41-2015, 2015
Related subject area
Subject area: The evolving Earth surface | Editorial team: Stratigraphy, sedimentology, geomorphology, morphotectonics, and palaeontology | Discipline: Sedimentology
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Sediment history mirrors Pleistocene aridification in the Gobi Desert (Ejina Basin, NW China)
Tectonic processes, variations in sediment flux, and eustatic sea level recorded by the 20 Myr old Burdigalian transgression in the Swiss Molasse basin
Miocene basement exhumation in the Central Alps recorded by detrital garnet geochemistry in foreland basin deposits
Can anaerobic oxidation of methane prevent seafloor gas escape in a warming climate?
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Melchior Schuh-Senlis, Guillaume Caumon, and Paul Cupillard
Solid Earth, 15, 945–964, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-945-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-945-2024, 2024
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This paper presents the application of a numerical method for restoring models of the subsurface to a previous state in their deformation history, acting as a numerical time machine for geological structures. The method is applied to a model based on a laboratory experiment. The results show that using force conditions in the computation of the deformation allows us to assess the value of some previously unknown physical parameters of the different materials inside the model.
Onyedika Anthony Igbokwe, Jithender J. Timothy, Ashwani Kumar, Xiao Yan, Mathias Mueller, Alessandro Verdecchia, Günther Meschke, and Adrian Immenhauser
Solid Earth, 15, 763–787, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-763-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-763-2024, 2024
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We present a workflow that models the impact of stress regime change on the permeability of fractured Latemar carbonate buildup using a displacement-based linear elastic finite-element method (FEM) and outcrop data. Stress-dependent heterogeneous apertures and effective permeability were calculated and constrained by the study area's stress directions. Simulated far-field stresses at NW–SE subsidence deformation and N–S Alpine deformation increased the overall fracture aperture and permeability.
Yan Cao, Zhijun Jin, Rukai Zhu, and Kouqi Liu
Solid Earth, 14, 1169–1179, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1169-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-1169-2023, 2023
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Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) was performed on shale before and after solvent extraction. The extraction yield from shale with THF is higher than other solvents. The organic-C-normalized yield of a mature sample is higher than other samples. The aromaticity of organic matter increases, and the length of organic matter aliphatic chains does not vary monotonically with increasing maturity. The results will help in the selection of organic solvents for oil-washing experiments of shale.
Zbyszek Remin, Michał Cyglicki, and Mariusz Niechwedowicz
Solid Earth, 13, 681–703, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-681-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-681-2022, 2022
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Traditionally, the axial part of the Polish Basin, i.e. the Mid-Polish Trough, was interpreted as the deepest and most subsiding part of the basin during the Cretaceous times. We interpret this area conversely, as representing a landmass – the Łysogóry–Dobrogea Land. Inversion-related tectonics, uplift on the one hand and enhanced subsidence on the other, drove the development of the Szozdy Delta within the axial part of the basin. New heavy mineral data suggest different burial histories.
Emilija Krsnik, Katharina Methner, Marion Campani, Svetlana Botsyun, Sebastian G. Mutz, Todd A. Ehlers, Oliver Kempf, Jens Fiebig, Fritz Schlunegger, and Andreas Mulch
Solid Earth, 12, 2615–2631, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2615-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2615-2021, 2021
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Here we present new surface elevation constraints for the middle Miocene Central Alps based on stable and clumped isotope geochemical analyses. Our reconstructed paleoelevation estimate is supported by isotope-enabled paleoclimate simulations and indicates that the Miocene Central Alps were characterized by a heterogeneous and spatially transient topography with high elevations locally exceeding 4000 m.
Jean-Philippe Blouet, Patrice Imbert, Sutieng Ho, Andreas Wetzel, and Anneleen Foubert
Solid Earth, 12, 2439–2466, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2439-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2439-2021, 2021
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Biochemical reactions related to hydrocarbon seepage are known to induce carbonates in marine sediments. Seep carbonates may act as seals and force lateral deviations of rising hydrocarbons. However, crustacean burrows may act as efficient vertical fluid channels allowing hydrocarbons to pass through upward, thereby allowing the vertical growth of carbonate stacks over time. This mechanism may explain the origin of carbonate columns in marine sediments throughout hydrocarbon provinces worldwide.
Thomas Voigt, Jonas Kley, and Silke Voigt
Solid Earth, 12, 1443–1471, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1443-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1443-2021, 2021
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Basin inversion in central Europe is believed to have started during Late Cretaceous (middle Turonian) and probably proceeded until the Paleogene. Data from different marginal troughs in central Europe point to an earlier start of basin inversion (in the Cenomanian). The end of inversion is overprinted by general uplift but had probably already occurred in the late Campanian to Maastrichtian. Both the start and end of inversion occurred with low rates of uplift and subsidence.
Arne Jacob, Markus Peltz, Sina Hale, Frieder Enzmann, Olga Moravcova, Laurence N. Warr, Georg Grathoff, Philipp Blum, and Michael Kersten
Solid Earth, 12, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1-2021, 2021
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In this work, we combined different imaging and experimental measuring methods for analysis of cross-scale effects which reduce permeability of tight reservoir rocks. Simulated permeability of digital images of rocks is often overestimated, which is caused by non-resolvable clay content within the pores of a rock. By combining FIB-SEM with micro-XCT imaging, we were able to simulate the true clay mineral abundance to match experimentally measured permeability with simulated permeability.
Lydia R. Bailey, Filippo L. Schenker, Maria Giuditta Fellin, Miriam Cobianchi, Thierry Adatte, and Vincenzo Picotti
Solid Earth, 11, 2463–2485, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2463-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2463-2020, 2020
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The Kallipetra Basin, formed in the Late Cretaceous on the reworked Pelagonian–Axios–Vardar contact in the Hellenides, is described for the first time. We document how and when the basin evolved in response to tectonic forcings and basin inversion. Cenomanian extension and basin widening was followed by Turonian compression and basin inversion. Thrusting occurred earlier than previously reported in the literature, with a vergence to the NE, at odds with the regional SW vergence of the margin.
Georg Schwamborn, Kai Hartmann, Bernd Wünnemann, Wolfgang Rösler, Annette Wefer-Roehl, Jörg Pross, Marlen Schlöffel, Franziska Kobe, Pavel E. Tarasov, Melissa A. Berke, and Bernhard Diekmann
Solid Earth, 11, 1375–1398, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1375-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1375-2020, 2020
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We use a sediment core from the Gobi Desert (Ejina Basin, NW China) to illustrate the landscape history of the area. During 2.5 million years a sediment package of 223 m thickness has been accumulated. Various sediment types document that the area turned from a playa environment (shallow water environment with multiple flooding events) to an alluvial–fluvial environment after the arrival of the Heihe in the area. The river has been diverted due to tectonics.
Philippos Garefalakis and Fritz Schlunegger
Solid Earth, 10, 2045–2072, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-2045-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-2045-2019, 2019
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The controls on the 20 Myr old Burdigalian transgression in the Swiss Molasse basin have been related to a reduction in sediment flux, a rise in global sea level, or tectonic processes in the adjacent Alps. Here, we readdress this problem and extract stratigraphic signals from the Upper Marine Molasse deposits in Switzerland. In conclusion, we consider rollback tectonics to be the main driving force controlling the transgression, which is related to a deepening and widening of the basin.
Laura Stutenbecker, Peter M. E. Tollan, Andrea Madella, and Pierre Lanari
Solid Earth, 10, 1581–1595, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1581-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1581-2019, 2019
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The Aar and Mont Blanc regions in the Alps are large granitoid massifs characterized by high topography. We analyse when these granitoids were first exhumed to the surface. We test this by tracking specific garnet grains, which are exclusively found in the granitoid massifs, in the sediments contained in the alpine foreland basin. This research ties in with ongoing debates on the timing and mechanisms of mountain building.
Christian Stranne, Matt O'Regan, Martin Jakobsson, Volker Brüchert, and Marcelo Ketzer
Solid Earth, 10, 1541–1554, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1541-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1541-2019, 2019
Maximilian Rieder, Wencke Wegner, Monika Horschinegg, Stefanie Klackl, Nereo Preto, Anna Breda, Susanne Gier, Urs Klötzli, Stefano M. Bernasconi, Gernot Arp, and Patrick Meister
Solid Earth, 10, 1243–1267, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1243-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1243-2019, 2019
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The formation of dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2), an abundant mineral in Earth's geological record, is still incompletely understood. We studied dolomites embedded in a 100 m thick succession of coastal alluvial clays of Triassic age in the southern Alps. Observation by light microscopy and Sr isotopes suggests that dolomites may spontaneously from concentrated evaporating seawater, in coastal ephemeral lakes or tidal flats along the western margin of the Triassic Tethys sea.
Salomé Mignard, Thierry Mulder, Philippe Martinez, and Thierry Garlan
Solid Earth, 10, 851–869, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-851-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-851-2019, 2019
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A large quantity a continental material is transported to the oceans by the world rivers. Once in the ocean, these particles can be transported down the continental shelf thanks to underwater avalanches. The repetition of such massive events can form very important sedimentary deposits at the continent–ocean transition. Data obtained during an oceanic cruise in 2010 allowed us to study such a system located offshore of Gabon and to evaluate the importance sediment transport in this area.
Sutieng Ho, Martin Hovland, Jean-Philippe Blouet, Andreas Wetzel, Patrice Imbert, and Daniel Carruthers
Solid Earth, 9, 1437–1468, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-1437-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-1437-2018, 2018
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A newly discovered type of hydrocarbon leakage structure is investigated following the preliminary works of Ho (2013; et al. 2012, 2013, 2016): blade-shaped gas chimneys instead of classical cylindrical ones. These so-called
Linear Chimneysare hydraulic fractures caused by overpressured hydrocarbon fluids breaching cover sediments along preferential directions. These directions are dictated by anisotropic stresses induced by faulting in sediments and pre-existing salt-diapiric structures.
Ernest Chi Fru, Stephanos Kilias, Magnus Ivarsson, Jayne E. Rattray, Katerina Gkika, Iain McDonald, Qian He, and Curt Broman
Solid Earth, 9, 573–598, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-573-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-9-573-2018, 2018
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Banded iron formations (BIFs) are chemical sediments last seen in the marine sedimentary record ca. 600 million years ago. Here, we report on the formation mechanisms of a modern BIF analog in the Cape Vani sedimentary basin (CVSB) on Milos Island, Greece, demonstrating that rare environmental redox conditions, coupled to submarine hydrothermal activity and microbial processes, are required for these types of rocks to form in the modern marine biosphere.
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Short summary
This study focuses on the assessment of the geothermal potential of two extensive upper Devonian aquifer systems within the Alberta Basin (Canada). Our work provides a first database on geothermal rock properties combined with detailed facies analysis (outcrop and core samples), enabling the identification of preferred zones in the reservoir and thus allowing for a more reliable reservoir prediction. This approach forms the basis for upcoming reservoir studies with a focus on 3-D modelling.
This study focuses on the assessment of the geothermal potential of two extensive upper Devonian...
