Using Dark Fiber and Distributed Acoustic Sensing to Characterize a Geothermal System in the Imperial Valley, Southern California

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dc.citation.articleNumbere2022JB025240en_US
dc.citation.issueNumber3en_US
dc.citation.journalTitleJournal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earthen_US
dc.citation.volumeNumber128en_US
dc.contributor.authorCheng, Fengen_US
dc.contributor.authorAjo-Franklin, Jonathan B.en_US
dc.contributor.authorNayak, Avinashen_US
dc.contributor.authorTribaldos, Veronica Rodriguezen_US
dc.contributor.authorMellors, Roberten_US
dc.contributor.authorDobson, Patricken_US
dc.contributor.authorTeam, the Imperial Valley Dark Fiberen_US
dc.date.accessioned2023-04-25T14:47:41Zen_US
dc.date.available2023-04-25T14:47:41Zen_US
dc.date.issued2023en_US
dc.description.abstractThe Imperial Valley, CA, is a tectonically active transtensional basin located south of the Salton Sea; the area hosts numerous geothermal fields, including significant hidden hydrothermal resources without surface manifestations. Development of inexpensive, rugged, and highly sensitive exploration techniques for undiscovered geothermal systems is critical for accelerating geothermal power deployment as well as unlocking a low-carbon energy future. We present a case study utilizing distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) and ambient noise interferometry for geothermal reservoir imaging, utilizing unlit fiber-optic telecommunication infrastructure (dark fiber). The study exploits two days of passive DAS data acquired in early November 2020 over a ∼28-km section of fiber from Calipatria, CA to Imperial, CA. We apply ambient noise interferometry to retrieve coherent signals from DAS records and develop a bin stacking technique to attenuate the effects from persistent localized noise sources and to enhance retrieval of coherent surface waves. As a result, we are able to obtain high-resolution two-dimensional (2D) S wave velocity (Vs) structure to 3 km depth, based on joint inversion of both the fundamental and higher overtones. We observe a previously unmapped high Vs and low Vp/Vs ratio feature beneath the Brawley geothermal system, which we interpret to be a zone of hydrothermal mineralization and lower porosity. This interpretation is consistent with a host of other measurements including surface heat flow, gravity anomalies, and available borehole wireline data. These results demonstrate the potential utility of DAS deployed on dark fiber for geothermal system exploration and characterization in the appropriate geological settings.en_US
dc.identifier.citationCheng, Feng, Ajo-Franklin, Jonathan B., Nayak, Avinash, et al.. "Using Dark Fiber and Distributed Acoustic Sensing to Characterize a Geothermal System in the Imperial Valley, Southern California." <i>Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth,</i> 128, no. 3 (2023) Wiley: https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JB025240.en_US
dc.identifier.digital2023-Chengen_US
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1029/2022JB025240en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/114811en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherWileyen_US
dc.rightsThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.en_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/en_US
dc.titleUsing Dark Fiber and Distributed Acoustic Sensing to Characterize a Geothermal System in the Imperial Valley, Southern Californiaen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.type.dcmiTexten_US
dc.type.publicationpublisher versionen_US
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