Reconnaissance Geothermal Resource Assessment Using Magnetotelluric Imaging on Svalbard, Norway

Abstract

Despite its location high up in the Arctic, the Svalbard archipelago has geological advantages that can be linked to accessible geothermal resource. In this paper we present broadband magnetotellurics (MT) pilot study from Spitsbergen, which was conducted in 2013 to assess the resource potential on the island. During fieldwork, good quality data were acquired in spite of challenges related to infrastructure. The collected data were interpreted in 2D according to the Occam´s principle. The resistivity models we obtained indicate an elongated composite conductive sedimentary layer stretching up to 2 - 3 km beneath the resistive permafrost, which we found covering up to a few hundred meters depth below the surface for the inner part of the measured profile. We constrained the MT model with existing geological knowledge on the island and used it to make reconnaissance geothermal resource assessment.