Imaging geothermal systems associated with oceanic ridge

Abstract

Manifestations of supercritical water in magmatic environments have so far only been accessible from analogue outcrops of fossil systems and by simulating pressure/temperature conditions in the laboratory. In order to assess the unknown properties of such reservoirs, scientific drilling is used when Earth surface sampled rocks cannot sufficiently explain past geological processes and when geophysical imaging does not sufficiently explain observed phenomena. However, our understanding of structural and dynamic characteristics of geothermal systems can be improved through application of advanced and/or innovative exploration technologies. Unlike resistivity imaging, active and passive seismic techniques have rarely been used in volcanic geothermal areas, because processing techniques were not adapted to geothermal conditions. Recent advances in volcano-seismology have introduced new processing techniques for assessing subsurface structures and controls on fluid flow in geothermal systems. We present here preliminary analyses of seismic records around a geothermal reservoir located both on-land and offshore along the Reykjanes Ridge, SW-Iceland. We deployed on-land stations (20 broad-band and 10 short-period seismometers) and 24 Ocean Bottom Seismometers which are recording since April 2014. Together with existing permanent stations, the complete network comprises 66 stations. The network was designed so that several processing techniques can be used with the data set and address scientific questions concerning geothermal systems and the oceanic ridge. We present the network deployment, our approach and preliminary results from the first months.