Canada: National Geology Survey Starts With Geothermal Energy Exploration

Earth scientists push ambitious project to map Canada’s geology (Nature)

(Courtesy CIA.gov)

EON-ROSE (Earth-system Observing Network-Réseau d’Observation du Système Terrestre) organizers have begun the project with a series of smaller studies .... while they seek full funding. Another study took place this summer, when researchers from the Geological Survey of Canada and Geoscience BC descended on Mount Meager, which is in southern British Columbia and is Canada’s most recently active big volcano. Their goal was to explore whether its volcanic warmth — which heats groundwater up to 240 °C — could be tapped for geothermal energy.

In July, geologists travelled around the mountain on helicopters to install instruments similar to those envisioned for EON-ROSE. The researchers are crunching the preliminary data now, aiming to see where permeable rocks channel Mount Meager’s volcanic heat towards the surface. Future studies in other parts of Canada could help geologists find new sources of geothermal energy — such as in the remote Arctic, where residents often rely on imported diesel, says Stephen Grasby, a geochemist at the Geological Survey of Canada in Calgary who led the work.

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From the Global Geothermal News archives:

• Monday, July 22, 2019 - Canada: Mount Meager Geothermal Resource - "a map-able, permeable zone, that looks like it's interconnected."
• Friday, November 3, 2017 - Canada: Project Finds Significant Potential for Geothermal Energy at Mount Meager
• Friday, March 3, 2017 - Canada: Students to Investigate Geothermal Potential of Meager Creek Hot Springs