USA, Utah: Valuable Data Made Available from the Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy

3D Geophysical Modelling of Gravity Data at the Utah FORGE site (Innovate Geothermal)

By Christian Hardwick, Utah Geological Survey and Jeff Witter, Innovate Geothermal Ltd.

These resources describe the 3D geophysical inversion modeling of gravity data at the FORGE site near Milford, Utah. FORGE is the Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy and the site in Utah has been selected by the U.S. Dept. of Energy for a 5-year R&D program to test technologies for the development of Engineered Geothermal Systems (EGS).

3D modelling of gravity data at the FORGE site is to help characterize the subsurface geologic framework. Specifically, modelling of gravity data in 3D, used in conjunction with rock density measurements and other subsurface geologic information can provide an independent test of an existing 3D geologic model (e.g. Witter et al., 2018). Such an exercise can be useful for reducing uncertainty in 3D geologic models (Witter et al, 2019).

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The authors of the above paper will be attending the GRC Annual meeting & Expo in Palm Springs, California from 15-18 September to present their findings. Other FORGE papers will be presented in two special sessions:

• FORGE in 2019 (John McLennan et al.)
• New Geoscientific Developments at the Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) Site (Stuart Simmons)
• FORGE Earth Model Update (Rob Podgorney et al.)
• Modeling Support for Drilling and Stimulation Planning for Utah FORGE Phase 3 (Aleta Finnila)
• Geophysics at the Milford, Utah, FORGE site: update on Gravity surveys and 3D modeling (Christian Hardwick et al.)
• Seismic Monitoring at the Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (Kristine L Pankow et al.)