Geothermal energy prospecting in radiothermal granites in the Cairngorms, Scotland, using an integrated geological, geophysical and petrophysical appr

地热能是为数不多的可再生能源之一，可以提供持续可靠的低碳热源，在某些情况下还能提供电力。在英国，在常规钻探深度(2-5公里)内，辐射热花岗岩是开发中/中-高焓(100-200摄氏度流体温度)地热能源的最佳目标之一。苏格兰拥有英国产热率最高的花岗岩，主要位于凯恩戈姆斯山脉。到目前为止，在苏格兰花岗岩内开发项目缺乏投资的主要原因之一是，不知道深层存在多大程度的渗透性(破裂和/或蚀变)带。在地下探测这些特征不是一件容易的事，因为它们不容易用例如地震测量方法观察到。然而，使用电磁测深技术，如大地电磁(MT)方法，有可能在地热流体可能存在的蚀变、多孔和/或破碎地带的寄主岩石(花岗岩)的电阻率远高于蚀变、多孔和/或破碎带的深度成像。通过我们与英国地质调查局和TownRock Energy的合作，成功的候选人将领导突破性的多学科研究，以更好地了解苏格兰东北部花岗岩的地热潜力，收集和整合来自野外、实验室和地下成像方法的新数据。具体地说，PHD项目将包括对苏格兰东北部存在放射性热花岗岩的地区(如凯恩戈尔姆山脉)进行一系列实地考察，以绘制地表特征(如裂缝、断层、蚀变带)图，进行大地电磁测量并收集样本，以使用实验室方法测量潜在储集岩的岩石物理性质。这些不同数据集的整合将直接影响苏格兰下一阶段的地热能勘探，但它们也将对了解世界各地其他类似的系统非常重要。

Geothermal energy is one of the few renewable energy sources that can supply a constant and reliable source of low-carbon heat, and in some cases electricity. In the UK, radiothermal granites offer one of the best potential targets for medium/medium-high enthalpy (100-200 degrees C fluid temperature) geothermal energy resources, within conventional drilling depths (2-5 km). Scotland hosts the highest heat producing granites in the UK, primarily situated in the Cairngorms. Until now, one of the main reasons why there has been a lack of investment in developing projects within the Scottish granites is that it is not known to what extent permeable (fractured and/or altered) zones exist at depth. Detecting these features in the subsurface is non-trivial, given that they are not easily observable using e.g. seismic surveying methods. However, using electromagnetic deep-sounding techniques like the magnetotelluric (MT) method offers the potential to image such features at depth where the electrical resistivity of the host rock (granite) will be much higher than in altered, porous and/or fractured zones, where geothermal fluids are likely to exist.Through our collaborations with the British Geological Survey and TownRock Energy, the successful candidate will lead groundbreaking multidisciplinary research to better understand the geothermal energy potential of the granites in the NE of Scotland, collecting and integrating new data from a combination of field, lab and subsurface imaging methods. Specifically, the PhD project will involve carrying out a series of field excursions to areas where there are radiothermal granites in NE Scotland (e.g. the Cairngorms) to map surface features (e.g. fracture, faults, alteration zones), carry out an MT survey and collect samples to measure the petrophysical properties of potential reservoir rocks using laboratory methods. The integration of these different data sets will directly influence the next stage of geothermal energy exploration in Scotland, but they will also be important in understanding other similar systems worldwide.