CD-2: Orogenic Belt
Moeck-Beardsmore Play Types
According to Moeck and Beardsmore, an orogenic belt geothermal play incorporates a sedimentary reservoir within a foreland basin or orogenic mountain belt. Significant crustal subsidence (up to several kilometers) occurs in sedimentary sequences. This subsidence is due to the weight of the thickened orogenic belt and erosional loading from mountain belts on non-thickened crust. This bending allows water to flow, creating an aquifer near the orogenic belt. The location of this aquifer results in increased temperatures.
Known conductive geothermal plays in orogenic belts include the Molasse Basin in the Southern Canadian Cordillera.
According to Moeck and Beardsmore, conductive geothermal plays in orogenic belts typically have the following properties:[2]
- Geologic Setting – Fold-and-thrust Belts, Foreland Basins
- Heat Source/Storage Properties of Reservoir – High Porosity/High Permeability or High Porosity/Low Permeability Sedimentary Aquifers
- Dominant Heat Transport Mechanism – Fault/Fracture Controlled, Litho/Biofacies Controlled
Examples
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CSVGeothermal Resource Area | Geothermal Region | Control Structure | Host Rock Age | Host Rock Lithology | Mean Capacity | Mean Reservoir Temp |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Garching Geothermal Area | Germany Geothermal Region | 2 MW 2,000 kW 2,000,000 W 2,000,000,000 mW 0.002 GW 2.0e-6 TW | ||||
Unterhaching Geothermal Area | Molasse Basin - Foreland basin of the alps | Jurrasic | Limestone | 395.15 K 122 °C 251.6 °F 711.27 °R |
References
- ↑ Inga S. Moeck,Graeme Beardsmore. 2014. A New 'Geothermal Play Type' Catalog: Streamlining Exploration Decision Making. In: Proceedings. Thirty-Ninth Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering; 2014/02/24; Stanford, California. Stanford, California: Stanford University; p. 8
- ↑ Inga Moeck. 2013. Geothermal Plays in Geologic Settings. In: IGA Workshop on Developing Best Practice for Geothermal Exploration and Resource/Reserve Classification; 2013/11/14; Essen, Germany. IGA website: International Geothermal Association; p. 19