11 Advances in Geothermal Resource Investigation (Posters)

Tuesday, 23 May 2017
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Room 323A/B/C

FIRST STAGE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF A MAP OF GEOTHERMAL PROVINCES FOR MEXICO

Paper number: 11-2
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM

Authors

Abstract

Mexico has geothermic areas of high temperature that actually are in exploitation. However, there are also sites of low and medium temperature, which is necessary to explore. It is essential to have a database of the geothermal resources of the national territory, whose results can be made available to the government authorities and use them to national energy strategies. This project will compile and be complemented with new data the existing information of geochemistry of fluids, geology, and distribution of aquifers. The construction of the map of geothermal provinces is part of the P02 project of the Mexican Center for Innovation in Geothermal Energy. This work will present the methodology that is being used for the construction of the map of geothermal provinces from the geochemical information whose objective is to delineate areas with greater probabilities.

The activities carried out to date are as follows: 1) search of bibliographical information on thermal manifestations (underground water wells and springs) from primary sources. 2) Review, evaluation and processing of the database. 3) Integration and processing of useful maps for the provincial map design. 4) Application of the data integration model: Boolean algebra (BA) and overlay analysis (OA) models.

Much of the information that emitted instances consulted lacks the date of collection of the sample, and does not report the ambient temperature. For this reason, it is necessary to carry out the analysis of the historical record of temperature of the meteorological stations (for a period from 1951 to 2010) to propose a local ambient temperature as a point of reference for the classification of each of the points of discharge of groundwater in thermal and cold waters. For this, three reference temperatures were set: 1) Average annual temperature (AAT) 2) Maximum temperature of the warmest month (MTWM). 3) Average annual maximum temperature (AAMT).

With all the results obtained, geothermal zones will be located from: 1) Identify permeable areas defined by faults and fractures. 2) Delimit areas with lithology that have ages less than or equal to 5 million years. 3) Identify zones of hydrothermal alterations. 4) Identify zones of magnetic anomalies. 5) Define the reservoir temperature using the chalcedony silica geothermometer to estimate the heat flow.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 49, No. 4

doi: 10.1130/abs/2017CD-292078

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