U.S. Department of EnergyGeothermal Technologies ProgramExploration Peer Review ReportProject Title: Assembling Crustal Geophysical Data for Geothermal Exploration in the Great Basin

CPS Identifier: 12339Principal Investigator: John N. LouieSponsoring Organization: University of Nevada, Reno

www.seismo.unr.edu/geothermal

Project PurposeAssemble 3-d reference model of seismic velocity for the western Great BasinUnderstand deep heat sourcesCan crustal thickness be a resource indicator?Improve regional models of resource geologyAssist USGS national geothermal assessment

Regional Geothermal Assessment1990 Geophysical FrameworkgridsPoor Detailin No. Nevada

Geothermal Index from crustal properties of 1990Diamond size from kilowatts produced

Lack of Post-60s Refraction Coverage

Project Objectives3-d reference model of seismic velocity for the western Great BasinContribute critical data toward the effective exploration for new geothermal resourcesFill in poorly characterized areasDevelop a community model contributed to regional assessment activitiesEvaluate geophysical indicators of geothermal resourcesBuild academic infrastructure and technical workforce in geothermal science and technology

FundingDOE funding to the University of Nevada, Reno has been delayed approximately one year for this project. FY 05 funding has not yet been received.

Fiscal YearDOE Funding ($k)Cost Share ($k)Total02$144,584$0$144,58403$74,833$0$74,83304$83,251$15,221$98,47205$38,613$7,723$46,33606$42,598$8,520$51,118

Plans and ApproachFive Tasks:Compile existing crustal informationEstablish a facility for long-range crustal surveysDevelop new regional seismic-refraction technologyCollect three new crustal refraction profiles Integrate new and prior results; create a regional crustal model; make model available to others

Selected Milestones

1.1

Completed initial assembly of pre-existing data and prelim. model

9/30/02

2.1

Established new refraction facility at UNR

7/31/02

3.1

Developed and tested cost-effective crustal surveying technology

4/29/05

4.2

Published No. Walker Lane transect results in technical journal

12/15/04

4.3

Collected Idaho-Nevada-Calif. (INC) seismic refraction transect

8/30/04

4.6

Collect Nevada-Utah seismic refraction transect

8/30/05

5.2

Reported refined model and geothermal correlations at Nevada Geothermal Conference

11/5/04

5.3

Released 1st web-portal pack for supercomputer rendering of model

4/29/05

5.5

Complete gathering of industry feedback on model

9/30/06

5.6

Publish crustal model, deliver on web, to assessment collaborators

9/30/07

Results 1.Compile existing crustal informationEstablish a facility for long-range crustal surveysDevelop new regional seismic-refraction technologyCollect three new crustal refraction profiles Integrate new and prior results; create a regional crustal model; make model available to others

Complete Compilation of GB Crustal Thicknesses

Results 2.Compile existing crustal informationEstablish a facility for long-range crustal surveysDevelop new regional seismic-refraction technologyCollect three new crustal refraction profiles Integrate new and prior results; create a regional crustal model; make model available to others

21 Texans from Refraction Technology, Inc.

Results 3.Compile existing crustal informationEstablish a facility for long-range crustal surveysDevelop new regional seismic-refraction technologyCollect three new crustal refraction profiles Integrate new and prior results; create a regional crustal model; make model available to others

Anatomy of a Nevada Gold MineDaily seismic sources of opportunity

200 Texans from PASSCAL and DOE/GBCGE

The N. Walker Lane Experiment, 2002

Data & Synthetics Reduced by 7.4 km/s

May 21 M1.6 Earthquake Near BridgeportSmall 1st arrival clear at 100s of km

Results 4.Compile existing crustal informationEstablish a facility for long-range crustal surveysDevelop new regional seismic-refraction technologyCollect three new crustal refraction profiles Integrate new and prior results; create a regional crustal model; make model available to others

The N. Walker Lane Experiment, 2002

How Thick is the Crust?Journal Publication: Louie, J. N., W. Thelen, S. B. Smith, J. B. Scott, M. Clark, and S. Pullammanappallil, 2004, The northern Walker Lane refraction experiment: Pn arrivals and the northern Sierra Nevada root: Tectonophysics, 388, 253-269.

Idaho-Nevada-California (INC), 2004

400 Texans from PASSCAL and DOE/GBCGE

Aug. 2004 INC Recording

Aug. 2004 INC Recording - 500-km distances

Spanning the Region

Results 5.Compile existing crustal informationEstablish a facility for long-range crustal surveysDevelop new regional seismic-refraction technologyCollect three new crustal refraction profiles Integrate new and prior results; create a regional crustal model; make model available to others

Considering New Crustal Thicknesses- M. Coolbaugh

Compilation of Selected Crustal Thicknesses

Impact of Work/MeritNew technology for national/regional assessmentsProgress toward improving success rate for finding resources at undrilled sites to 40%Thin crust helps locate Buffalo Valley prospectTechnology transfer:Websites, Journal paper, 2 GRC papers, SEG paper, International conference, 7 other US workshopsCollaborators: IRIS/PASSCAL, Optim Inc., LLNL, GBCGEWorkforce development:20 student field hands, 8 student co-authors, senior thesis, 2 MS theses, PhD thesis

Plans for CompletionFinal 2 project years have reduced fundsPublish INC resultsCollect Utah transect 8/05, report results, publishIntegrate new results into Great Basin modelGather industry feedback on regional modelPublish and deliver model to collaborators and groups doing regional assessmentHeimgartner graduates with MS degree by 9/07