Regional resource models

Before a geothermal reservoir can be exploited for geothermal energy, we need to obtain an in-depth understanding of the geological context and the edifice of geothermal systems. In a first step, GEMex will provide conceptual models including structural, compositional, thermal, rheological and chemical information of the crust underlying the geothermal systems. Existing data will be compiled and new data will be acquired in the field. We will answer questions such as

• What is the tectonic edifice of the volcanic geothermal systems and how pervasive is the fluid flow in time and space? .
• What are critical conditions for the spatial and temporal variation of hydrothermal systems, and how to recognize them from field data and models?
• Where are the thermal anomalies and the structural pathways located in the blind–dry systems such as Acoculco, and how to find them?

To answer those questions, GEMex will establish a series of regional 3D models: 1) a 3D geological model, 2) a 3D temperature model, 3) a 3D hydrological model and 4) analogue models which rebuilt part of the features we observe in nature at laboratory scale.