Webinar: The Next Generation of Clean Energy & CCS Research in BC
Vancouver, BC – April 18, 2024 – On Tuesday, April 30, a Geoscience BC webinar will feature geothermal energy and carbon sequestration with a focus on the latest geoscience research and the next generation of researchers.
Geoscience BC Scholarship Program recipients Fateme Hormozzade and Maziyar Nazemi will present technical talks on their research, while Natural Resource Canada’s Dr. Steve Grasby will provide an update on the Garibaldi Geothermal Volcanic Belt Assessment Project. The webinar is in partnership with Canadian Society for Evolving Energy (CSEE), and will feature a question and answer session moderated by CSEE representative and Geoscience BC volunteer Dr. Brad Hayes.
**REGISTRATION IS MANDATORY**
Registration will close on April 29, 2024 at 5:00 pm Pacific
Presentation 1: Garibaldi Geothermal Volcanic Belt Assessment Project
Presented by: Dr. Steve Grasby, Geological Survey of Canada
This project is assessing the geothermal potential of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt in BC’s Southwest Region. The collaborative, multidisciplinary project involving the Geological Survey of Canada and seven universities has collected geological, geochemical, geophysical, paleomagnetic and physical rock property data to develop a new three-dimensional model of the heat and reservoir plumbing of the Mount Meager Complex (near Pemberton) and Mount Cayley area (southwest of Whistler)
- Phase 1: Mount Meager. During Phase 1 of the project, the multidisciplinary team conducted research at Mount Meager in the summers of 2019 and 2020. This phase of research has been instrumental in encouraging investment by Meager Creek Development Corporation. A final report and data for Phase 1 can be found in the Deliverables section below.
- Phase 2: Mount Cayley. This work began in 2021, with a field mapping report published in April 2022 providing new data for bedrock ages, gravity and magnetotelluric surveys, and ground temperature.
- The project's final report is due for publication in spring 2024.
Presentation 2: Three-Dimensional Modeling of Geothermal Systems in The Garibaldi Volcanic Belt, Canada, Using Magnetotelluric Data
Presented by: Fateme Hormozzade, Ph.D., Student Carleton University
Fateme’s Ph.D. thesis focuses on the use of audio-magnetotelluric (AMT) data to explore for shallow geothermal resources in the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt in BC’s Southwest Region. This research project aims to identify the influence of fault and fracture networks on permeability and shallow fluid circulation at the Mount Meager Volcanic Complex. Combining the new AMT data with legacy magnetotelluric (MT) and 3-D inversion techniques, she is developing a new electrical resistivity model which provides information about the hydrothermal system and fluid flow in the subsurface of Mount Meager. She will incorporate well logs and petrophysical and fluid properties into the model to examine the influence of fracture and fault networks on the physical properties of the rock. Subsequently, reservoir characteristics and petrophysical trends will be estimated and optimized for the survey area, using machine learning algorithms. Furthermore, this project will contribute to the development of conceptual models of the hydrothermal system flow regime, which could be utilized for mitigating the risk of resource development.
Presentation 3: Geological and Engineering Considerations for CO2 Storage in Deep Saline Aquifers in Tectonically Active Regions: Implications for the Lower Mainland B.C., Canada
Presented by: Maziyar Nazemi, Ph.D., Student Simon Fraser University
The region of BC known as the Lower Mainland (LMBC) hosts approximately 60% of BC’s population and industrial activities and as such is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in the province. LMBC has been evaluated previously for hydrocarbon potential and natural gas storage and represents a readily accessible and potentially economically feasible locale to store CO2. However, no significant effort has yet been made to evaluate the feasibility of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) in the LMBC. Sedimentary strata below the LMBC are poorly understood, particularly at depth, and the geological context (e.g., depositional environment interpretations and facies analysis) of these strata has not been examined in detail. To address this knowledge gap, this research aims to 1) place the strata below the LMBC in a geological context and assess these strata for their reservoir potential, and 2) build an integrated 3-D geological static model of the strata. These data will then be used to 3) estimate the storage capacity and long-term fate of injected CO2 and 4) define subsurface geohazards (e.g., faults) through assessment of the geological model.
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Our critical minerals and metals, cleaner energy and geological carbon capture and storage research is funded by industry, government and other partners. It informs evidence-based decisions by industry, governments, Indigenous groups and communities.
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For more information, please contact
Richard Truman
Geoscience BC
604-662-4147 / 778-929-1662