Various Geoscientific Investigations of Low-Enthalpy Geothermal Sites in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Many first geoscientific investigations have been carried out during 2017 at different low-enthalpy geothermal sites in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) country to understand and evaluate the geothermal resources. Dense gravity and magnetic surveys were measured at three main geothermal springs: Green Mubazzarah (GM) and Ain Faidha (AF) in the Abu Dhabi emirate as well as Ain Khatt (AK) located in the Ras Al Khaimah emirate. These geophysical surveys detected a V-shape structure, indicating a possible deep fractured geothermal system beneath GM and AF. Deep fractures were also observed from the three-dimensional inversion of potential field data at these places. Additionally, a magnetotelluric study has been also carried out near the GM site and revealed some fractures, which suggests geothermal systems of the UAE are dominated by deep fluid circulation. Hydrochemistry of sampled hot waters estimates the temperature of the geothermal reservoirs to be about 120 oC by using cation geothermometers. The temperature of the springs range from 32 oC to 49 oC. Remote sensing studies estimate the total heat discharge from the three geothermal sites to be about 4530 MW. All these geoscientific surveys will be used to construct a numerical model of the three sites and then possible future development of the renewable geothermal potential resources in the UAE.