| Abstract |
With increasing interest in geothermal energy, also geothermal data analysis is becoming an important issue. The portion of geothermal among all renewable energy sources in Switzerland and its undiminished growth highlight the need for regional resource evaluations. Rather 1-D models have interpreted the temperature data, systematically collected since many years, however, only now the computing power allows for joint interpretations, including for large-scale 3-D effects from geological, topographical and hydrogeological features. By our study an integrated assessment and evaluation of the geothermal potential is intended, accounting for individual utilization scenarios and their specific requirements. The state-of-the-art compilation is based on comprehensive 3D geological and thermal regional models of 20-40 km extent. Thereby, zones of significant convective flow or preferential sites for borehole heat exchanger systems (BHE) should be identified. In contrast to results obtained from earlier geothermal resource assessments, now, existing geological, hydrogeological information and petrophysical data are comprised within a full 3D numerical evaluation. First results are now obtained from a well-documented subsurface area in Northern Switzerland and from a Alpine topographies in central Switzerland. Among various studies that have been performed on these sites, we could demonstrate that geological mapping procedure provides accurate results when compared to small-scale high-resolution 3D seismic profiles. The necessity for these considerations is demonstrated by temperature data analyses. |