| Title | Use of fiber optics to evaluate the terrestrial heat flow and de-risk geothermal exploration |
|---|---|
| Authors | Fiona CHAPMAN, Jasmin RAYMOND, Nina RMAN, Karlo BORKO, Andrej VIDMAR |
| Year | 2025 |
| Conference | LATAM Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | active distributed temperature sensing, high-resolution, international collaboration, thermal conductivity, groundwater flow, existing boreholes |
| Abstract | An accurate knowledge of terrestrial heat flow is critical to assess geothermal resources. The Earth’s natural heat flow can be evaluated using the geothermal gradient, thermal conductivity, and where applicable, radiogenic heat production. Thermal conductivity is typically estimated based on lithology or measured on core in the laboratory. However, core material is often unavailable, so resultant heat flow assessments are low-quality. The objective of this presentation is to illustrate how a high spatial resolution method for in situ evaluation of ground thermal conductivity allows for accurate heat flow assessment in existing boreholes. In Canada, active distributed temperature sensing (ADTS) was used to conduct heat injection tests in groundwater wells and measure the ground thermal response with a spatial resolution of 0.25 m using a composite fiber optic and copper heating cable. In Slovenia, distributed temperature sensing is currently used with conventional thermal response test |