Abstract
Shallow, low-temperature geothermal resources can significantly reduce the environmental impact of heating and cooling. Based on a replicable standard workflow for three-dimensional (3D) geothermal modeling, an approach to the assessment of geothermal energy potential is proposed and applied to the young sedimentary basin of Pisa (north Tuscany, Italy), starting from the development of a geothermal geodatabase, with collated geological, stratigraphic, hydrogeological, geophysical and thermal data. The contents of the spatial database are integrated and processed using software for geological and geothermal modeling. The models are calibrated using borehole data. Model outputs are visualized as three-dimensional reconstructions of the subsoil units, their volumes and depths, the hydrogeological framework, and the distribution of subsoil temperatures and geothermal properties. The resulting deep knowledge of subsoil geology would facilitate the deployment of geothermal heat pump technology, site selection for well doublets (for open-loop systems), or vertical heat exchangers (for closed-loop systems). The reconstructed geological–hydrogeological models and the geothermal numerical simulations performed help to define the limits of sustainable utilization of an area’s geothermal potential.
Highlights
Sustainability, including in urban areas, has become a key concern when planning for the future [1].Increasing energy demand, the changing climate, and energy resources limitations have prompted several countries to introduce strategies to enhance energy-efficiency and production sustainability.The construction and ongoing use of the built environment are substantial contributors to growing energy demand, using from 20 to 40% of the energy consumed in developed countries and accounting for more than 30% of total greenhouse emissions [1,2]
Gravel Fans Unit (GFU): a succession of continental gravel deposits with interlayers of minor clay-rich sediments that stretch from the Monte Pisano fans to the Pisa plain [42]
The heat stored in the subsoil can be exploited by the means of vertical borehole heat exchangers (BHEs) connected to a heat pump; heat is extracted from the ground using closed-loop pipes in which a fluid circulates
Summary
Sustainability, including in urban areas, has become a key concern when planning for the future [1]. Key data included subsoil stratigraphy, i.e., the depths and thicknesses starting fromunits the top surface offrom the lithological units (input and using the method of geological as obtained well-log lithology and byraster) the interpretation of “volumetric geophysical surveys equation”. The outputs allow easy for deeper units, and subsurface aquifers, i.e., their nature confined, artesian), chemical estimation and mapping of geothermal potential and other useful geothermal parameters, including composition, temperatures, and hydraulic properties (flow rates and volumes). Geothermal parameters, including density, porosity, permeability, heat conductivity, and specific heat (both literature-derived values and in situ measurements), were assigned as input data to subsoil units. The simulated temperatures may be integrated with temperature values measured in existing wells, giving a robust picture of the 3D temperature distribution in the subsoil These temperatures were interpolated to a continuous raster surface, using an inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation [22]. The outputs allow easy estimation and mapping of geothermal potential and other useful geothermal parameters, including temperatures and aquifer volumes
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