The document analyzes borehole temperature data from across California to determine patterns between heat flow and geological location. It finds that regions closer to the coast have higher heat flow values, while more central locations have lower values. This difference is hypothesized to be the result of varying distances from the subduction of the Farallon Plate. Specifically, high heat flow regions lie on the outer arc of this subduction zone, while low heat flow values are found in the fore arc basin of the Great Valley. Understanding the relationship between heat flow and geology could help identify efficient sites for geothermal energy plants.
Geothermal energy and ice and unlikely alliance?Ciaran Nolan
An analysis of well temperature data and geothermal gradients provide insights for onshore geothermal opportunities as well as highlighting areas of recent hydrocarbon charge on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
Higher gradients (> 40 degrees C/km) have been identified in a number of areas including; Southern North Sea Salt Diapirs, the Utsira High, the Peon Discovery, the Western Møre and Vøring Basins.
Area of higher gradients are often coincident with areas of recent (Neogene to Quaternary) hydrocarbon charge and fluid movement along significant vertical conduits such as salt diapirs, basement faults, dykes and hydrothermal vents. Many oil accumulations in these areas are associated with anomalously low biodegradation due to recent rapid charge.
Repeated ice sheet loading and unloading has resulted in very recent uplift, erosion, tilting, trap breach, fluid migration and fluid remigration and subsurface temperature changes.
Further analysis is proposed to determine the relative importance of conductive versus convective/advective heat flow and the influence of ice sheet loading and unloading has had on recent fluid and heat flow paths and subsurface temperature changes.
Survey Notes is an informative, non-technical magazine on noteworthy and interesting geologic topics in Utah. It is the official UGS newsletter and is produced three times a year.
Geothermal energy and ice and unlikely alliance?Ciaran Nolan
An analysis of well temperature data and geothermal gradients provide insights for onshore geothermal opportunities as well as highlighting areas of recent hydrocarbon charge on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
Higher gradients (> 40 degrees C/km) have been identified in a number of areas including; Southern North Sea Salt Diapirs, the Utsira High, the Peon Discovery, the Western Møre and Vøring Basins.
Area of higher gradients are often coincident with areas of recent (Neogene to Quaternary) hydrocarbon charge and fluid movement along significant vertical conduits such as salt diapirs, basement faults, dykes and hydrothermal vents. Many oil accumulations in these areas are associated with anomalously low biodegradation due to recent rapid charge.
Repeated ice sheet loading and unloading has resulted in very recent uplift, erosion, tilting, trap breach, fluid migration and fluid remigration and subsurface temperature changes.
Further analysis is proposed to determine the relative importance of conductive versus convective/advective heat flow and the influence of ice sheet loading and unloading has had on recent fluid and heat flow paths and subsurface temperature changes.
Survey Notes is an informative, non-technical magazine on noteworthy and interesting geologic topics in Utah. It is the official UGS newsletter and is produced three times a year.
Guidance paper leadership of strategic improvement planning and self evaluati...Lucie Fenton
Is your strategic improvement planning process as effective as it could be? ASCL Curriculum and Assessment Specialist Suzanne O’Farrell has written a new guidance paper to help senior leaders, governors and trustees to improve their processes for strategic planning and self-evaluation.
The paper sets out four elements of the strategic planning process and outlines five actions that strategic leaders carry out. Suzanne says, “Defining clear priorities and understanding institutional strengths and weaknesses have never been more critical.”
Thermohaline Circulation & Climate ChangeArulalan T
Today I have presented "The Thermohaline Circulation and Climate Change" as Mini-Project for our Science of Climate Change Course ! We can expect THC shutdown around 2050s... OMG ! Yes, we can expect "The Day After Tomorrow" around 2100... All the images credited to the reference papers except one T-S-Sigmat created by me using CDAT5.2.
Site of asteroid impact changed the history of life on Earth: the low probabi...Sérgio Sacani
Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid approximately 9km in diameter hit the hydrocarbon- and
sulfur-rich sedimentary rocks in what is now Mexico. Recent studies have shown that this impact at
the Yucatan Peninsula heated the hydrocarbon and sulfur in these rocks, forming stratospheric soot
and sulfate aerosols and causing extreme global cooling and drought. These events triggered a mass
extinction, including dinosaurs, and led to the subsequent macroevolution of mammals. The amount
of hydrocarbon and sulfur in rocks varies widely, depending on location, which suggests that cooling
and extinction levels were dependent on impact site. Here we show that the probability of signifcant
global cooling, mass extinction, and the subsequent appearance of mammals was quite low after an
asteroid impact on the Earth’s surface. This signifcant event could have occurred if the asteroid hit the
hydrocarbon-rich areas occupying approximately 13% of the Earth’s surface. The site of asteroid impact,
therefore, changed the history of life on Earth.
Western US volcanism due to intruding oceanic mantle driven by ancient Farall...Sérgio Sacani
The origin of late Cenozoic intraplate volcanism over the western United States is debated. One important reason is the lack
of a clear understanding of the mantle dynamics during this volcanic history. Here we reconstruct the mantle thermal states
beneath North America since 20 million years ago using a hybrid inverse geodynamic model with data assimilation. The model
simultaneously satisfies the past subduction kinematics, present mantle tomographic image and the volcanic history. We find
that volcanism in both the Yellowstone volcanic province and the Basin and Range province corresponds to a similar eastwardintruding
mantle derived from beneath the Pacific Ocean and driven mostly by the sinking Farallon slab below the centraleastern
United States. The hot mantle that forms the Columbia River flood basalt and subsequent Yellowstone–Newberry
hotspot tracks first enters the western United States through tears within the Juan de Fuca slab. Subsequent coexistence of the
westward asthenospheric flow above the retreating Juan de Fuca slab and eastward-propagating mantle beyond the back-arc
region reproduces the bifurcating hotspot chains. A similar but weaker heat source intrudes below the Basin and Range around
the southern edge of the slab, and can explain the diffuse basaltic volcanism in this region. According to our models, the putative
Yellowstone plume contributes little to the formation of the Yellowstone volcanic province.
Resource Assessment of the Daklan Geothermal Prospect, Benguet, PhilippinesFernando Penarroyo
Review and analyses of the Daklan geothermal prospect show and relatively modest sized geothermal resource based on Monte Carlo simulation of 30-35 MWe development for 25 years.
Conclusions
• Studyingthecurrentstateofsub-seapermafrost is of critical importance in order to elucidate the time scale of the ongoing process;
• Giventhatspatialandtemporalvariabilityof methane releases is very high, this underscores importance of establishing monitoring network over the ESAS;
• ConsideringthesignificanceoftheESAS methane reservoir and enhancing mechanism of its destabilization, this region should be considered the most potential in terms of possible climate change caused by abrupt release of methane.
FIGURE 4-1 Atmospheric temperature structure EXERCISE 2- CONTROLS OF T.pdfStevenR9yGrayu
FIGURE 4.1 Atmospheric temperature structure EXERCISE 2: CONTROLS OF
TEMPERATURE Temperatures vary greatly from place to place and time to time. The seasonal
and daily temperature variations are due to the variations in radiation receipt that we have
already examined. Here we will examine the primary causes for the spatial patterns of
temperature that exist across the world. Specifically, we will look at each of the four major
controls of temperature patterns: latitude, the differential heating and cooling of land and water,
ocean currents, and elevation. A: Latitude Latitude is the most important factor affecting the
overall pattern of global temperatures. Latitude is such a major control of temperature because it
is the primary determinant of the amount of solar radiation received by a location. As we saw in
Laboratories 2 and 3, the amount of radiation received is greatest in the low latitudes and least in
the high latitudes. 40 introduction to Westher and Climate Lab Manual (A-1) Why is more solar
radiation received for the year as a whole in the low latitudes than in the high latirudes? (A-2)
Where does the receipt of solar radiation differ the most between summer and winter, in the low
latitudes or in the high latitudes? Explain. (A-3) The temperature graphs below are for locations
that are similar in terms of the other tempemature controls that we will discuss shorth. However,
one of the graphs is for a low latitude location, one is for a middle latitude location, and one is
for a high latitude location. Which of the graphs is for a low latitude location? Which one is for a
middle latitude location? Bricfly explain. Note: On these and subsequent graphs, J and D stand
for January and December, respectively. B: Differential Heating/Cooling of Land and Water
Another major control of global temperature patterns is the differential heating and cooling of
land and water surfaces. Water surfaces both heat up and cool down more slowly than do land
surfaces at a similar latitude. As a result, water surfaces have a moderating effect on air
temperatures (as the air is heated and cooled primarily by its underlying surface), Before we
examine the influence of this differential heating and cooling on temperature patterns, we should
look more closely at the reasons why these differences in heating and cooling exist. The five
factors listed below affect the different rates of either heating, cooling, or both heating and
cooling of land and water surfaces. a. Transmissivity: Land surfaces are opaque and therefore
absorb radiation only at the surface; water is somewhat transparent and therefore absorbs
radiation throughout a depth, and the resulting surface heating of water is less than that of the
land. b. Mixing: Land is solid and basically stationary, and water is a fluid and mixes freely; this
mixing of upper heated water with lower cooler water reduces the rate of heating during the the
rate of cooling during the fall and winter. c. Evaporation: As.
Similar to Empirical Analysis of Borehole Temperatures (20)
FIGURE 4-1 Atmospheric temperature structure EXERCISE 2- CONTROLS OF T.pdf
Empirical Analysis of Borehole Temperatures
1. Empirical Analysis of Borehole Temperatures Located
throughout California specifically relating to heat flow.
Stephen Gronow, University of Akron – Ohio
1. ABSTRACT
The National Geothermal DataSystem,specificallyCaliforniaboreholetemperatures,was usedtofirst
calculate specificheatandthenanalyzedtofindpatternsbetweenheatflow andgeologiclocation.Heat
flowdatawere groupedinthree categories:Low (Q<=0.02 W/m2
),Medium(.1 W/m2
>Q<.02 W/m2
),and
high(Q=>.1 W/m2
). Boreholeswere then plottedusinglongitude andlatitude onamap of California
displayingone of the three heatflowcategories.Datawasinspectedthroughvisualization. Regions
closerto coast of Californiahada highvalue forheatflow while valueslocatedcentrallyhad low heat
flowvalues.The difference inthe heatflow betweenthe geologicpositionswashypothesizedtobe the
resultof distance fromthe subductionof the FarallonPlate.More specifically,the highheatflow region
liesonan outerarc while the lowheatflow valueslieona fore arc basin.
2. INTRODUCTION
The boreholesinCaliforniavaryby manyparameters,includingbutnotlimitedto:depthdrilled,
geographiclocation,andboreholetemperature.Thereare about12,000 borehole locations inCalifornia.
Dependingonheatflow, some boreholelocationspresentoptimum sitesforgeothermal energy.With
the growingdemandforcleanenergysources,it importanttoassessif there are any geological
processesthatcan be correlatedto highervaluedheatflow locations.Understandingthe relationship
betweenheatflow andgeologiclocationisessential fordetermining costefficientsitesforgeothermal
energyplants.
3. METHODS
Parametersfromthe National GeothermalDataSystemwere mergedandimportedtoaspreadsheetfor
analysis.Datawere manipulatedinordertosolve forheatflow usingFourierequation(Q= -K(ΔT/ΔD).
Note that an average of 2.5 W/mKwas usedforthe thermal conductivity. HeatFlow datawere
organizedintothree groups:Low (Q<=0.02 W/m2
),Medium(.1W/m2
>Q<.02 W/m2
),andhigh(Q=>.1
W/m2
).Heatflowdata points were mappedontoCaliforniavia LongitudesandLatitudes.Datawas
analyzedbyvisual inspection.
4. DATA DESCRIPTION
Whenheatflowwasmappedvialongitude andlatitude onCalifornia(Figure 1),patternsemerge.There
are prominentregionswithhighspatial densitiesof low andhighheatflow values thatare located
spatially close (observered circle Figure 1). Alsoshownare eachheatflow groupgraphedindividually
(Figure 2,Figure 3, Figure 4).
5. INTERPRETATION
The regionwithhighlocalizedheatflow values(Figure 1) isinterpretedtohave bedrockmade up of
volcanicrock due to the Franciscansubductionprocess.(Bartow andNilsen1990) The regionwithlow
localizedheatflowvalues (Figure 1) isinterpretedtohave layersof marine sedimentsdue tothe Great
Valleysequence.(BartowandNilsen1990)
2. 6. DISCUSSION
The regionwithhighheatflowvaluesisgeologicallylocatedon anouterarc. Specifically,the regionwas
made by the Franciscansubductionprocess.Due toitslocationneara subductioncomplex,the heat
flowtemperaturesare significantlyhigherhere.(Bartow andNilsen1990) On the otherhand,the region
locatedgeologicallywithinthe fore arcbasinisknownas the Great Valley.Due tothe basinbeing
furtherawayfrom the subductionzone the heatflow tempsare cooler.(Bartow andNilsen1990)
Consequently,itwouldbe more efficienttoputa geothermal energyplant onanouterarc (See Figure 5
for general picture of subductionzone)
7. CONCLUSION
The purpose of thislab wasto betterunderstandthe geothermal energyof differentgeologiclocations
withinCaliforniabasedonheatflow. Itwasfoundthatthe regionthat had highheatflow valueswere
geologicallylocatedonanouterarc. Adversely,the regionwithlow heatvalueswasgeologicallylocated
on a fore arc basin. Basedonthe findings,apossible location tobuildageothermal energyplantin
Californiawouldbe onthe outerarc,specificallynearSanta Rosa.
8. CITATIONS
Bartow,J. and T. Nilsen.1990. Reviewof the GreatValleysequence,easternDiabloRange andnorthern
San JoaquinValley,central California.Departmentof the InteriorU.S.Geological Survey:1-25.
WilliamP.Elder,Geologyof the GoldenGate Headlands,National ParkService,GoldenGate National
RecreationArea, from,Stoffer,P.W.,andGordon,L.C.,eds.,2001, GeologyandNatural History
of the San FranciscoBay Area:A Field-TripGuidebook,U.S.Geological SurveyBulletin2188, p.
61-86.