175 GSA Hydrogeology Division: Henry Darcy Distinguished Lecture

Monday, 2 November 2015
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Ballroom IV

EVALUATING THE COMPETITIVE USE OF THE SUBSURFACE: THE INFLUENCE OF ENERGY STORAGE AND PRODUCTION IN GROUNDWATER

Paper number: 175-1
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM

Authors

  • Rainer Helmig Presenting Author
    Institut für Wasser- und Umweltsystemmodellierung, Stuttgart

Abstract

Gain insight on how advanced numerical models may be used to analyze and predict the mutual influence of subsur­face projects and their impact on groundwater reservoirs, and the increasing need to do so, during this presentation.

The subsurface is being increasingly utilized both as a resource and as an energy and waste repository. With increasing exploitation, resource conflicts are becoming increasingly common and complex, such as thermal energy storage and the effects surrounding hydraulic fracturing in both geothermal and shale gas production.

During this lecture you will learn about:

  • Possible utilization conflicts in subsurface systems and how the groundwater is affected
  • Fundamental properties and functions of a compositional multiphase system in a porous medium; basic multiscale and multiphysics concepts will be introduced and conser­vation laws formulated
  • Large-scale simulation that shows the general applicability of the modeling concepts of such complicated natural systems, especially the impact on the groundwater of simultaneously using geothermal energy and storing chemical and thermal energy, and how such real large-scale systems provide a good environment for balancing the efficiency potential and possible weaknesses of the approaches discussed.