Overview of Geothermal Surface Exploration Methods

Geothermal Exploration

The recent increase in conventional fuel prices has resulted in an increase in the interest innatural sources of energy such as geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is the vast reservoir of heat energy in the earth’s interior , whose surface manifestation are volcanoes, fumaroles, geysers, streaming grounds and hot springs. The exploration of geothermal resource in India is in nascent stage and that motivated to look into the aspect in detail. Commercial exploitation for generation of electricity is yet to take place in India. The scientific disciplines commonly involved are geology, geochemistry, and geophysics. This paper shows various techniques which are used for exploration of geothermal energy in Indian context, which preliminarily deals with hot springs, as there are no major active volcanoes or other surface manifestations present in India. Initially, it focuses on primary geological studies like remote sensing and geochemical analysis of water from hot springs to delineate prospective zones. After short listing prospective geothermal sites, geophysical methods such as magnetotellurics, gravity, magnetic and seismic methods are used. The entire exploration method is analogous to oil and gas exploration where the practice is to narrow down the sites based on the probability of success. It emphasizes on accuracy of surface exploration methods so that the risk can be minimized while practicing subsurface exploration methods such as drilling which requires huge capital investment.

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