Title: |
Characteristics of Geothermal Reservoirs in Oceanic Rift Zones |
Authors: |
John ORCUTT and Jim SHNELL |
Key Words: |
rift zone, ocean, enthalpy, super-critical |
Conference: |
Stanford Geothermal Workshop |
Year: |
2015 |
Session: |
Emerging Technology |
Language: |
English |
Paper Number: |
Orcutt |
File Size: |
230 KB |
View File: |
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The greatest limitation on significant increases in the development and use of geothermal energy is the inability of current technologies to access large volumes of high-enthalpy resources. One very significant opportunity for such access is in the oceanic rift zones, which display in many locations hydrothermal vents producing geothermal resources at temperatures in excess of 400 degrees Celsius due, in large part, to the thin crust in such zones. An excellent example of the nature of this opportunity can be seen in Iceland, which is one of the few places where an oceanic rift zone occurs on land. Oceanic rift zones are, however, wrapped around the world and can provide a global solution to the need for more geothermal resources. (For further discussion, see www.oceangeothermal.org) This paper compiles and reviews the research to date into the characteristics of geothermal reservoirs in oceanic rift zones and outlines the direction for future research into such resources as a basis for the development of the system design for the harnessing of such resources.
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