| Title | Geothermal Exploration on the Island of Montserrat, Caribbean |
|---|---|
| Authors | Poux, Bastien; Brophy, Paul |
| Year | 2012 |
| Conference | Geothermal Resources Council Transactions |
| Keywords | Geothermal Exploration; Montserrat; Caribbean; Antilles; Soufriere Hills; geology; structure; geochemistry; geophysics; magnetotellurics |
| Abstract | Montserrat is located in the Caribbean and, as with many of the islands of the Caribbean Lesser Antilles, is volcanic in origin. As a result, many of the islands have a potential for geothermal electrical power generation. EGS, Inc. (EGS) was contracted by the Government of Montserrat to conduct a scoping survey on geothermal activity on the island, and to develop a conceptual resource model based on existing and new exploration data. The exploration work completed by EGS included geologic, geophysical and geochemical surveys; lithologic correlation and structural interpretation constitute the geologic part of the work; the geophysical work included Magnetotelluric, Time-Domain Electromagnetic Induction techniques as well as a microseismicity study. Fluid geochemistry analyses consist of both a set of data from previous surveys and a new set of samples. All the data compiled led to a high probability for the occurrence of a geothermal system in the southwestern portion on the island. Priority areas for exploratory drilling were defined in a zone protected from volcanic hazard and corresponding to the intersection of faults and where a clay cap has been defined by the geophysical survey. |