Accomplishments at the Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy 
 

Shevenell, L., Coolbaugh, M., Faulds, J., Oppliger, G., Calvin, W., Louie, J., Blewitt, G., Kratt, C., Arehart, G., Sladek, C., Lechler, P., and Garside, L.

Great Basin Center for Geothermal, MS 178

University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV 89557-0088

775-784-1779; 775-784-1709 (fax);

lisaas@unr.edu, mfc@unr.nevada.edu, jfaulds@unr.edu, oppliger@unr.edu, wcalvin@unr.edu, louie@seismo.unr.edu, gblewitt@unr.edu, krattc@unr.nevada.edu, arehart@unr.edu, csladek@unr.edu, plechler@unr.edu, lgarside@unr.edu

Keywords

Resource assessments, exploration, Great Basin, Nevada

ABSTRACT

      The Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy (GBCGE) has been funded by DOE since March 2002 to conduct geothermal resource exploration and assessment in the Great Basin.  In that time, those efforts have led to significant advances in understanding the regional and local conditions necessary for the formation of geothermal systems.  Accomplishments include the development of GPS-based crustal strain rate measurements as a geothermal exploration tool, development of new methods of detecting geothermal features with remotely sensed imagery, and the detection of potential extensions to geothermal fields using InSAR measurements of ground displacement. Regional work with GPS-based measurements of crustal strain, GIS-based favorability modeling, and deep seismic refraction studies have identified two areas in central Nevada, at Buffalo Valley and south of Fairview Peak, that have good geothermal potential but have been incompletely explored to date.  Hence, more detailed work using these techniques, as well as fluid geochemistry, are planned in the near future to better understand these areas and determine if they are indeed high potential exploration targets. On the more local scale, Desert Peak-Bradys geothermal area has been extensively studied using detailed geologic mapping, gravity, InSAR, Hymap hyperspectral data, Hg soil gas, and digital field mapping of fumaroles and surface spring deposits in order to assess and help facilitate development of a possible enhanced geothermal system (EGS) resource.  Significant improvements in the understanding of the structural controls of the geothermal system have been made with these integrated studies at the Desert Peak-Bradys fields.  All new research data are being integrated into a web-based geothermal GIS database accessible to the public and interested stakeholders.  Maps of geothermal favorability for the Great Basin are being developed, and estimates of the remaining undiscovered geothermal resources are being made.

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