Petrography Analysis

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Exploration Technique: Petrography Analysis

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• Activities (9)
• Areas (8)
• Regions (0)
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Exploration Technique Information
Exploration Group:	Lab Analysis Techniques
Exploration Sub Group:	Rock Lab Analysis
Parent Exploration Technique:	Rock Lab Analysis
Information Provided by Technique
Lithology:	Provides detailed information about rock composition and morphology
Stratigraphic/Structural:
Hydrological:
Thermal:
Cost Information
Low-End Estimate (USD):	275.00 27,500 centUSD 0.275 kUSD 2.75e-4 MUSD 2.75e-7 TUSD / sample
Median Estimate (USD):	420.00 42,000 centUSD 0.42 kUSD 4.2e-4 MUSD 4.2e-7 TUSD / sample
High-End Estimate (USD):	625.00 62,500 centUSD 0.625 kUSD 6.25e-4 MUSD 6.25e-7 TUSD / sample

Petrography Analysis:

Petrology is the study of rocks. A petrographic analysis is an in depth investigation of the chemical and physical features of a particular rock sample. A complete analysis should include macroscopic to microscopic investigations of the rock sample.

Other definitions:Wikipedia Reegle

 

Introduction

"A petrographic analysis is critical when trying to learn about a rock, reservoir, or formation of interest. The scale of investigation depends on the importance of the particular sample of interest. To fully describe and characterize a rock takes varying stages of analysis beginning with an outcrop or hand sample." cannot be used as a page name in this wiki.

A petrographic analysis is critical when trying to learn about a rock, reservoir, or formation of interest. The scale of investigation depends on the importance of the particular sample of interest. To fully describe and characterize a rock takes varying stages of analysis beginning with an outcrop or hand sample.

 

Use in Geothermal Exploration

"When investigating a geothermal resource the petrographic analysis plays a critical role in determining the resource potential. A petrographic analysis can be describing core samples from an exploration well, looking at thin sections of the reservoir or reservoir boundary, using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to characterize the fracture surfaces from microstructures, doing X-ray diffraction (XRD) to identify exact mineral assemblages of a rock, or some other useful petrographic technique that can be used to identify the chemical or physical features of a specific rock. A well rounded investigation needs to account for both macroscopic and microscopic features." cannot be used as a page name in this wiki.

When investigating a geothermal resource the petrographic analysis plays a critical role in determining the resource potential. A petrographic analysis can be describing core samples from an exploration well, looking at thin sections of the reservoir or reservoir boundary, using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to characterize the fracture surfaces from microstructures, doing X-ray diffraction (XRD) to identify exact mineral assemblages of a rock, or some other useful petrographic technique that can be used to identify the chemical or physical features of a specific rock. A well rounded investigation needs to account for both macroscopic and microscopic features.

 

Related Techniques

"<br>

• Rock Lab Analysis
  • Core Analysis
  • Cuttings Analysis
  • Isotopic Analysis- Rock
  • Over Core Stress
  • Paleomagnetic Measurements
  • Petrography Analysis
  • Rock Density
  • X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)
  • [[X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF)|X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF)" cannot be used as a page name in this wiki.

Rock Lab Analysis

• Core Analysis
• Cuttings Analysis
• Isotopic Analysis- Rock
• Over Core Stress
• Paleomagnetic Measurements
• Petrography Analysis
• Rock Density
• X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)
• X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF)

 

Data Access and Acquisition

Data acquisition begins with a rock sample from outcrop, drill core, or cuttings. Once macroscopic details about the formation or rock sample have been determined by visually inspecting an outcrop or hand sample, a petrographic thin section is typically made to characterize the microscopic features. Thin sections are great for identifying the minerals present, porosity, inter-granualr volume (IGV), alteration, microstructures, and provenance. However, thin sections are only two dimensional, to get a three dimensional understanding of the micro-features a scanning electron microscope (SEM) is typically used. SEM’s can reveal micron scale surface features of a rock sample. One of the consequences of a rock interacting with an electron beam in an SEM is that characteristic X-rays are released, which can be measured to determine a relatively qualitative elemental composition of the specific grain being investigated. This process is called energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, or EDS, and can be very helpful in providing basic elemental composition of a sample. To acquire quantitative bulk rock compositions XRD is a common technique. There are various XRD machines and techniques, but typically a rock sample is crushed into a fine powder which is packed and mounted onto a stage that is analyzed by X-rays. The X-ray detector captures this information which gets plotted onto a diffractogram where characteristic peaks can be identified as specific minerals.

 

Additional References

Elders, et al., 1981, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0375650581900080
Laughlin, et al., 1983, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/037702738390094X
Lambert and Epstein, 1992, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/037702739290082O
Jones, et al., 2011, http://www.geothermal-energy.org/pdf/IGAstandard/SGW/2011/jones.pdf

 

References

Page	Area	Activity Start Date	Activity End Date	Reference Material
Petrography Analysis At Fenton Hill HDR Geothermal Area (Laughlin, Et Al., 1983)	Fenton Hill HDR Geothermal Area		1983	Geology Of The Fenton Hill, New Mexico, Hot Dry Rock Site
Petrography Analysis At Geysers Area (Lambert & Epstein, 1992)	Geysers Area			Stable-Isotope Studies Of Rocks And Secondary Minerals In A Vapor-Dominated Hydrothermal System At The Geysers, Sonoma County, California
Petrography Analysis At Kilauea East Rift Geothermal Area (Quane, Et Al., 2003)	Kilauea East Rift Geothermal Area	1989	2000	Magmatic History Of The East Rift Zone Of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii Based On Drill Core From SOH 1
Petrography Analysis At Kilauea Summit Area (Keller, Et Al., 1979)	Kilauea Summit Area			Results Of An Experimental Drill Hole At The Summit Of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii
Petrography Analysis At Raft River Geothermal Area (1980)	Raft River Geothermal Area	1980	1980	Petrography of late cenozoic sediments, Raft River geothermal field, Idaho
Petrography Analysis At Raft River Geothermal Area (2011)	Raft River Geothermal Area	2011	2011	Geology and Hydrothermal Alteration of the Raft River Geothermal System, Idaho
Petrography Analysis At Roosevelt Hot Springs Geothermal Area (Petersen, 1975)	Roosevelt Hot Springs Geothermal Area	1975	1975	Geology and Geothermal Potential of the Roosevelt Hot Springs Area, Beaver County, Utah
Petrography Analysis At U.S. West Region (Krohn, Et Al., 1993)	U.S. West Region			Relations Of Ammonium Minerals At Several Hydrothermal Systems In The Western Us
Petrography Analysis At Valles Caldera - Sulphur Springs Geothermal Area (Armstrong, Et Al., 1995)	Valles Caldera - Sulphur Springs Geothermal Area	1988	1992	Comparison Of Hydrothermal Alteration Of Carboniferous Carbonate And Siliclastic Rocks In The Valles Caldera With Outcrops From The Socorro Caldera, New Mexico

1. Fenton Hill HDR Geothermal Area
2. Geysers Area
3. Kilauea East Rift Geothermal Area
4. Kilauea Summit Area
5. Raft River Geothermal Area
6. Roosevelt Hot Springs Geothermal Area
7. U.S. West Region
8. Valles Caldera - Sulphur Springs Geothermal Area

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