Geothermal Geophysics

 Geophysical Methods
 Geophysics for Geothermal Exploration
 MT Overview
 The Signal
 Rock Resistivity
 Data Collection, Equipment
 Processing
 Modeling and Interpretation
 Examples

Errol Anderson September 2011

[email protected]
 Geothermal Geophysics
Used to measure sub-surface properties that may
locate and characterize a geothermal resource.
Methods include:
 Bulk resistivity – using MT, TDEM, VES, CSAMT
 Magnetic properties – using ground and airborne methods
 Bulk density – using gravity and seismic
 Spontaneous potential – using SP
 Rock velocity – using active and passive seismic
 Rock stress – using active and passive seismic
 Methods that can directly detect a
geothermal signature.
 Resistivity:
 Primarily detects clay alteration caused by geothermal fluids.

 May detect effects of salinity, porosity and temperature.

 Multiple explanations for measured resistivity structure.

 Magnetics:
 May detect demagnetization caused by geothermal fluids.

 Similar response to reversely-magnetized bodies.

 Strongly proximity-dependent - aeromagnetics recommended.

 Methods that do not directly detect a
geothermal signature.
 Gravity:
 Detects changes in density of sub-surface rocks.

 May be related to structural features such as faults or calderas.

 Strongly affected by elevation – can be corrected for but may

introduce significant error.

 Active Seismics (Reflection / Refraction)

 Detects rock velocity, rock reflectors, rock stress.

 May be related to fault structure and rock units.

 Often difficult to obtain good data in young volcanic areas –

more suited to older or sedimentary environments.

 Methods that do not directly detect a
geothermal signature (cont.)
 Passive Seismics (Microearthquakes):
 Detects sub-surface rock movements.

 Can be related to faults and structural features.

 Natural signals may be small and sporadic.

 Spontaneous Potential (SP):

 May detect sub-surface fluid movement.

 Strongly influenced by groundwater movement.

Magneto-Telluric (MT) Surveying

Introduction
and
Application
 MT - An Overview
 Deep penetrating resistivity exploration tool

 Uses naturally occurring EM signals

 Wide frequency range  wide depth range

 Resolution depends on resistivity contrasts

 Individual soundings modeled as resistivity layers

 Lines of soundings can be jointly modeled in 2D

 3D modeling now a very effective technique

 Where is MT Used?
 Deep crustal studies
 Geothermal Exploration
 Mineral Exploration
 Oil & Gas Exploration 2000

 Advance exploration
1000
 Seismically difficult areas (m)
0
• high velocity surface layers
• over-thrusts, -1000

• rough terrain
-2000
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
 Countries Distance (m)

• China - 20,000 MT / year

• India
• Greece
• Turkey
• USA
• Libya
• PNG
 Resistivity Contrasts
 Any resistivity method
10,000

requires a resistivity contrast 1,000

to detect structures
100
Typical
 Resistivity depends on a Resistivity
10
(Ωm)
range of factors:
 Salinity of pore fluid 1

Volcaniclastics
Shale

Sandstone

Volcanics
Igneous
Clay

Carbonate
 Porosity
 Temperature
 Clay content and type of clay
 Resistivity of Brines
1,000,000

Salton Sea Brine 3000

1000
100,000
300
100
NaCl ppm Seawater 30
Cerro Prieto Brine 10 Resistivity
10,000 3 Ωm
1
0.3
Wairakei 0.1
0.03
1,000
0.01
0.003
0

100
100 200 300 400
Temperature (degC)
 Effect of Porosity
 Archie’s Law
 ρ = a ρw φ - n Sw- m
a ≅ 0.6 - 1.6, n ≅ 2, m ≅ n
Estimated Bulk Resistivity of Clean Rock
Saturated with NaCl water

 Assumes 10000
5% porosity

 no matrix conductivity Bulk Resistivity (Ohm.m) 10% porosity

20% porosity
1000

 Bulk resistivity
 higher than fluid resistivity
100

10
100 1000 10000 100000
Salinity (ppm NaCl)
 Conductive Rock Matrix - Clays
 In practice, the conduction within the rock
matrix is important
 Clays are the most common conductive
component within rocks
 Clay conductivity occurs in the clay to pore-
water interface region (Gouy layer)
 Smectites are much more conductive than
most other clays (illites, chlorite, kaolin)
 Clay formation is temperature-dependent –
primarily below 180°C, so the high-
temperature reservoir is more resistive
 MT Signal Basics
 Electromagnetic signal
EM Signal
entering the Earth generates (H)
an electrical response in the
conductive ground

 Electrical response currents

are orthogonal to original
signal and measured as
voltages Telluric
Response
(E)
 E response is proportional to
resistivity and H field,
therefore Ex
resistivity ∝ | Ex / Hy |²
Hy
 Depth Penetration
 Electromagnetic signals attenuate with depth
Depth ~ 500 √ ( resistivity / frequency)

 High frequencies = shallow penetration

 Low frequencies = deep penetration

 Typically penetration range of metres

to several km for frequency range
10,000 Hz - 0.001 Hz
 Signal Sources
 High Frequencies (> 1 Hz)
 Shallow penetration
 Created by world-wide thunderstorms,
usually near the equator.
 The energy travels around the earth (in
a wave guide between the earth's
surface and the ionosphere)
 Low Frequencies (< 1 Hz)
 Deep Penetration
 Source is interaction of the solar wind
with the earth's magnetic field.
 Signal Strength Varies with
Time and Frequency
 General signal activity related to solar
activity and equatorial thunderstorms
 Solar activity currently low
but increasing.
 Generally weak signal
strength at frequencies
of 10Hz - 0.1 Hz
 Data Collection
 Magnetic signal measured 5-channel MT Lay-out

with horizontal and vertically Ey

GPS synchronized
24-bit acquisition &
processing unit
electrode

oriented sensitive coils Ex

Battery

 Electrical field measured with

electrode
Common
electrode electrode

simple non-polarizing Hx

electrodes Laptop
Computer Hy

 Orthogonal arrays
electrode

Hz

 24 bit A-D Magnetic sensors

•H=magnetic field component

 Recording for 5-20 hours •E=electric field component

 2 or more sampling GEOSYSTEM

frequencies
 Time series data saved to
disk or flash drive
 500 Mb to 1 GB per station
 Remote Reference
Remote
5-channel MT Lay-out

GPS synchronized

 Any coherent noise that occurs on both

24-bit acquisition & electrode
Ey
processing unit

Battery
Ex
electrode
Common

H and E channels will lead to erroneous

electrode electrode

Hx

Laptop

resistivity estimates
Computer Hy
electrode

Hz

Magnetic sensors

•H=magnetic field component

•E=electric field component

 H signal should vary only slightly over GEOSYSTEM

great distances
 Remote Reference Technique:
 A reference recording is made at a remote
location
 Only where there is strong coherency
between the remote and local H signals is a
5-channel MT Lay-out

GPS synchronized
24-bit acquisition & electrode
Ey
processing unit

particular signal sequence used Ex

electrode
Common
electrode
Battery

electrode

Remote may be separated by 2 - 200km

Hx

 Laptop
Computer Hy
electrode

Hz

Magnetic sensors

•H=magnetic field component

•E=electric field component

GEOSYSTEM

Survey Sites
 Equipment - Metronix (Germany)

 24 bit A-D
 Built in GPS synchronisation
 High speed network interface
 Hard disk storage
 Wide frequency range
 Compact and Portable
 Low cost
Geosystem Surveying
with
Metronix Equipment

Carlo Lodigiani and Metronix

ADU-06 5-channel MT system
in back-pack mode, Sudbury
Basin, Canada.

Note small size of system, and

portability.
 Basic Processing
 Coherent, referenced time-series
signals and responses are
converted into frequency domain
(FFT)

 Impedances (E/H) and

subsequently resistivities, phases
etc. are calculated at a range of
frequencies.
 The Basic Sounding

 Two resistivity curves

(rhoxy and rhoyx)

 Two associated phase curves

 Dimensional parameters

 Polar plots
 Why 2 Curves ?
Resistivity
TM
 2D and 3D structures mean (rho with
that resistivities appear E ⊥ to strike)
different in different directions
 Can be viewed in terms of TE
current channelling - (rho with
 Useful in detecting structure E⏐⏐ to strike)
 Major and minor tensor
resistivities are calculated Current
 Convention is to reference to
assumed strike
 TE is rho from E field // to strike High Low
 TM is rho from E field
perpendicular to strike

Apparent resistivity across a 2D Boundary

 Static Shifts
 Local inhomogeneities and
anomalies can cause the TDEM
whole MT sounding to be
offset by a fixed factor
 Resistivities too high or low

 Static shift can be removed

 TDEM sounding

 Close spaced stations and

spatial filtering
 2D inversion on close spaced

stations
Dimensionality and Structure

 The tensor
resistivity can be
used to identify
structural trends
 Pseudo-sections
 Useful Quick View
 Either TE or TM
 Helps identify

TE/TM modes

 Resistivity Section

 Phase Section
Apparent Resistivity Maps
 1D Modelling
 Converting
resistivity-frequency to
resistivity-depth
 Simple layered models
 Continuous (Bostick)
 Many layers (Occam)
 Can model TE, TM and
Invariant modes
 Fitting
 Apparent resistivity
 Phase
 Benefits
 Simple and fast

 Easy to obtain a quick 3D

image - combine many

models
 1D Model Maps and Sections
Resistivity at a specified depth
from continuous 1D models

Layered 1D Models

Continuous 1D Models
 2D Modelling
 Integrated modelling of
data from many
soundings
 Models both TE and TM
modes at one time
 Greater sensitivity to
boundaries
 Applicable if the structure
approximates 2D
 Need to determine broad
structure before planning
2D lines
Test Model
The Inversion Process ...
Final 2 D Model
 Three-dimensional (3D) Models
 Based on a 3D rectangular grid of blocks
 Block size typically 100 x 100 m over area of interest, with
larger blocks surrounding core
 Block thickness typically 25m at shallow levels, thicker at
deeper levels
 A 3D model may contain more than 100,000 blocks
 Static shift effects caused by shallow resistivity variations
and topography can be included in the model
 MT Applied to
Geothermal Exploration
Examples
 Schematic of a geothermal system

From: Johnston, J.M., Pellerin, L. and Hohmann, G.W. (1992). Evaluation of Electromagnetic Methods for
Geothermal Reservoir Detection. Geothermal Resources Council Transactions, Vol 16. pp 241 – 245
Geothermal system in steep terrain
 Geothermal Examples - Typical Patterns
 Experience from many areas shows
2000
typical resistivity structure:
 Conductive layer of 2-5 Ωm domed
1000 above reservoir
(m)  Top of conductor = 60 °C
0  Bottom of conductor = 180 °C
 Conductive layer is mainly due to
-1000 conductive clays smectites
 Base of conductor marks transition to
illites and other high T secondary
-2000
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 minerals.
Distance (m)  Reservoir is higher resistivity controlled
by temp/salinity/lithology.
MT Resistivity Model Cross-Section  There is, of course, lots of variation on
Through a Geothermal Reservoir this theme depending on:
(Smoothed from actual 2-D Model,
 Geology
red zone is <5 Ωm)
 Hydrology
 Fluids / gasses
MT 1D Models, Clay Alteration, Temperature

The conductive layer is

defined from 1D models
 A Vapour Dominated Reservoir
3000
W Line P3: Well data E

2000
Elevation (m a.s.l)

1000

Tertiary Tertiary
-1000 Sediments? Sediments?

N N2
-2000
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000
Distance along Profile (m)

The temperatures have a local peak in this

MT Station
section where there is the one main area of Intersection with other Profile Lines
fumarolic activity.
Wellpath
 Young and Old Reservoirs Note weakness of the
conductive layer in
the north. Although
S Line - 12 N
fumaroles lay in this
2000 area, the reservoir
temperature was
1000 <200C.
E le v a t i o n (m a s l )

0
Rho (ohm.m)
1000
200
-1000 100
50
20
10
6
-2000 1

Legend

-3000

-4000
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000

Distance (m)

Line 12
 Berlin, El Salvador
271
Well Location
MT Location
270

269

268

267
North (km)

266

265

264

263

262

261
548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557
East (km)

Bostick Resistivity at 500 m Depth (ohm m)

 Berlin
Berlin, El Salvador
Elevation of Base of Conductive Layer (m asl) Berlin Elevation of the 180°C Isotherm (m asl)

271000 271000

270000 270000

269000 269000

268000 268000

267000 267000

North (m)
266000
North (m)

266000

265000 265000

264000 264000

263000 263000

262000 262000

261000 261000

Well Measurement Location MT Measurement Location

260000 260000
548000 549000 550000 551000 552000 553000 554000 555000 556000 557000 548000 549000 550000 551000 552000 553000 554000 555000 556000 557000

East (m) East (m)

Elevation of Base of Conductive Layer Elevation of 180 deg C

Wayang Windu, Indonesia
Well Location
MT Location

G.Gambung

G.Bedil
North (km)

G.Wayang

G.Windu

East (km)

Conductance of the Conductive Layer (S)

 Wayang Windu, Indonesia
Wayang Windu Elevation of Base of Conductive Layer (m asl) Wayang Windu Elevation of 180°C Isotherm (m asl)

G.Gambung G.Gambung

G.Bedil G.Bedil

North (km)
North (km)

G.Wayang G.Wayang

G.Windu G.Windu

East (km) East (km)

Legend
Well Measurement Locations MT Locations Faults

Elevation of Base of Conductive Layer Elevation of 180 deg C

Karaha Bodas, Indonesia
9214
MT Location

9213

9212

9211
Apparent Resistivity
at 1 Hz (ohm m)
9210

9209

9208
North (km)

9207

9206

9205

9204

9203

9202

9201

9200
173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180
East (km)
Karaha Bodas, Indonesia

Elevation of
Base of
Conductive
Layer

Elevation of
180 deg C
Unidentified Geothermal Field, Indonesia
Well Location
MT Location
North

East
Apparent Resistivity at 1 Hz (ohm m)
Unidentified Geothermal Field, Indonesia
Well Location
MT Location
North

East
Elevation of base of conductive layer (m asl)
Unidentified Geothermal Field, Indonesia
Well Location
MT Location
North

East
Elevation of 180°C from well measurements (m asl)
The End

Thank You