I-Corps: Imaging and locating geothermal resources using distributed acoustic sensing deployed on telecommunication fiber cables

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种地下成像技术，该技术利用现有的电信光纤基础设施进行地震监测和地下成像。这项拟议的技术依赖于使用一种名为分布式声波传感的激光干涉系统在现有电信光纤网络上记录的自然地震活动。这种方法可以显著降低地热能勘探和生产的地球物理研究的前期成本。具体地说，它可以通过识别与高能地热储集层相关的最佳地下结构来降低勘探风险。此外，它还可能对火山和地热储等复杂的地下系统提供宝贵的见解。这一i-Corps项目基于一种层析成像方法的开发，该方法使用在现有电信光纤上记录的分布式声波传感(DAS)数据。与传统的地震仪器相比，DAS数据使用一台仪器提供了覆盖数十公里的米级空间分辨率。这项技术已成功应用于位于加利福尼亚州猛犸湖的长谷火山口等大型火山系统，大大促进了人们对这座火山的了解。此外，报告的地下图像已被证明改善了与位于火山口内的一座30兆瓦地热发电厂目前使用的水热系统相关的结构的表征。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a subsurface imaging technology that uses existing telecommunication fiber infrastructure for earthquake monitoring and subsurface imaging. The proposed technology relies on natural seismicity recorded on existing telecommunication fiber networks using a laser interferometric system called distributed acoustic sensing. This approach may significantly decrease the upfront costs of geophysical studies for geothermal energy exploration and production. Specifically, it may reduce the exploration risk through the identification of optimal subsurface structures associated with high-energy geothermal reservoirs. In addition, it also may provide invaluable insights into complex subsurface systems such as volcanoes and geothermal reservoirs.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a tomographic method that employs distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) data recorded on pre-existing telecommunication fibers. Compared to conventional seismic instruments, DAS data provides a meter-scale spatial resolution covering tens of kilometers using a single instrument. This technology has been successfully applied to a large-scale volcanic system such as the Long Valley caldera located in Mammoth Lakes, California, which significantly advanced the understanding of this volcano. Additionally, the reported subsurface images have been shown to improve the characterization of the structures associated with the hydrothermal system currently employed by a 30 MW geothermal power plant located within the caldera.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.