University of Mississippi eGrove Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2019 Geothermal Resource Assessment of Mississippi Adam Blake Goodwin University of Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd Part of the Engineering Science and Materials Commons Recommended Citation Goodwin, Adam Blake, "Geothermal Resource Assessment of Mississippi" (2019). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1595. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/1595 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GEOTHERMAL RESOURCE ASSESSMENT OF MISSISSIPPI A Thesis Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering The University of Mississippi by ADAM B. GOODWIN May 2019 Copyright © 2019 by Adam Blake Goodwin All rights reserved ABSTRACT Geothermal energy is exploited through the process of using hot water or steam extracted from reservoirs of geothermal heat in Earth's crust which is derived from the upward convection and conduction of heat from Earth’s mantle and core. This energy can be harnessed to power geothermal heat pumps, heat water, or to generate electricity. Previous geothermal assessments of Mississippi have been locally focused, either in the southern Mississippi River flood plains or in eastern north central Mississippi at an active lignite coal mine. The focus of this project was to calculate and map heat flow estimates within the entire state of Mississippi. Assessment of well log datasets, estimating thermal conductivity values within broad stratigraphic intervals, and creating a new geothermal gradient model allowed me to delineate patterns of temperature resources sufficient for future geothermal applications. This study also provides preliminary geophysical evidence of a high geothermal temperature gradient spatially associated with major tectonic features in Mississippi. The potential economic reward for mapping this clean, renewable energy source could be enormous. The overall environmental impacts are considerably lower than fossil fuel and nuclear power plants. The future of geothermal systems also has the potential for lower impacts in comparison to other renewables like solar, biomass, and wind. This is because the power source is contained underground, and the energy conversion equipment is relatively compact making the overall environmental footprint very small in comparison with other sources. ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to Grace and Meghan Goodwin, I would not have been able to complete this without the love, patients, and encouragement from both of you. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS BHT Bottom hole temperature DEM Digital elevation model EGS Enhanced geothermal systems IDW Inverse distance weighting ISO Isopach TC Thermal conductivity Th Thorium K Potassium U Uranium Cz Cenozoic K-Pg Cretaceous – Paleogene LK Lower Cretaceous Pz Paleozoic UK Upper Cretaceous UJ Upper Jurassic °C/km Degrees Celsius per kilometer Δ °C Change in temperature, degrees Celsius kwh Kilowatt hour MW Megawatts mW/m2 Milliwatts per square meter W/m2 Watts per square meter W/m∙K Watts per meter degrees kelvin WTC Weighted thermal conductivity AAPG American Association of Professional Geologist DOE Department of Energy iv GSNA Geothermal Survey of North America MDEQ Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality MISB Mississippi Interior Salt Basin OPEC Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries SMU Southern Methodist University USEIA United States Energy Information Agency v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to thank the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering along with my thesis committee, which consisted of Dr. Louis Zachos, Dr. Greg Easson, and Dr. Lance Yarbrough. I met with Dr. Zachos during my first semester with an idea on doing a project that something to do with geothermal resources. Throughout my thesis, Dr. Zachos’s experience in ArcGIS, geology, and engineering applications guided me through this project. Dr. Zachos is a patient mentor, great advisor, and most of all a good friend, thank you for all your help in our weekly meetings. I am very grateful for Mississippi Mineral Resource Institute for providing a sponsorship for my studies during my final year at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Easson surprised me with the opportunity to continue my research with a research assistantship position, and I want to say thank you very much. Without it I doubt I would have had time to finish with my busy family life. I would also like to thank Dr. Yarbrough for his support with the engineering calculations he helped derive. The complex raster creation and processing I was preforming would sometimes cloud my judgement and he was always there to assist with equations. Thank you all very much, I will never forget all the help you have given me. Thank you to Dr. David Dockery, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, for sending me the available data set for the state of Mississippi and for your geological interpretations. vi I would also like to thank Dr. Murlene Clark for the motivation, help, and encouragement to go for my masters. Without your help I would have never submitted my application for the geological program. Her personality and intelligence have provided so much inspiration and I want to thank you for everything you have done for me. I also want to thank Dr. David Allison for all the opportunities he has given me preforming undergraduate research along with the mentorship he provided in making me a better geologist. Lastly, I want to thank my parents Peggy R. Goodwin, Gary Goodwin, my brother and Zach Goodwin and wife Jennifer Goodwin, and my grandparents Libby Williford and Henry Williford. I am sincerely thankful for all the love, support, and encouragement you all have given me. Without it I would not be where I am today, thank you so much. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………………...…....ii DEDICATION …………………………………………………………………...……………...iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS ………………………………………………..iv ACKOWLEDGMENTS …………………………………………………………………………vi LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………...…………………………..….x LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………...………….xi INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………………..1 GEOLOGICAL SETTING ……………………………………………………………………….4 GULF OF MEXICO GEOLOGICAL SETTING ………………………………………...4 MISSISSIPPI GEOLOGICAL SETTING ………………………………………………..6 MISSISSIPPI INTERIOR SALT BASIN ………………………………………………...8 SALT DOMES AS A POSSIBLE SOURCE OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY ………….9 JACKSON DOME ………………………………………………………………………11 HEAT FLOW …………………………………………………………………………...14 MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY ………………………………………………………..17 BOTTOME HOLE TEMPERATURE CORRECTION ………………………………...20 GEOTHERMAL GRADIENT …………………………………………….…………….21 GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE...……………….. ………………………………………….25 ISOPACH ……………………………………………………………………………….29 THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY …………………………………………………………35 viii RESULTS ……………………………………………………………………………………….38 BOTTOM HOLE TEMPERATURE …………………………………………...…….…38 ABSOLUTE TEMPERATURE …………………………………………….…………...40 GEOTHERMAL GRADIENT …………………………………………….………….....42 THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY ………………………………………….…...………....43 HEAT FLOW …………………………………………………………….…...………....49 CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………….………51 REFERENCES ……………………………………………………….…………………………53 APPENDIX ….………………….………….………………...………………….………………58 VITA …………………………………………………………………….………………………71 ix LIST OF TABLES Table 1 — Thermal Conductivities Based on Composition ……………………………………35 Table 2 — Thermal conductivities estimates used based on composition for each era. …....….36 x LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 — Map of Mississippi and the Interior Salt Basin ………………………….….………3 Figure 2 — Map of the Opening of the Gulf of Mexico ………………………………………...4 Figure 3 — Map of the Distribution of Salt Deposits along the Gulf Coast ………………….....6 Figure 4 — A typical Salt Dome ………………………………………………………………...7 Figure 5 — Geological Structure Map of Mississippi …………………………….…………….8 Figure 6 — Cross section through a Gulf Regional Salt Dome ……………………………......10 Figure 7 — Locator Map of the Jackson Dome ……………………………………………......11 Figure 8 — Cross Section of the Jackson Dome …………………………………………....….12 Figure 9 — SMU’s conterminous United States Heat flow map ……………………………....16 Figure 10 — The locations of different data sets used in this assessment ………………….….18 Figure 11 — Histogram showing number of wells versus depth ……………………………....19 Figure 12 — Geothermal Gradient Map of Mississippi …………………………………….….23 Figure 13 — Geothermal Gradient Anomalies within the data ………………………………...24 Figure 14 — Top of Upper Cretaceous …………………….….………….….………………...26 Figure 15 — Top of Lower Cretaceous ………………………...……………….….……….….27 Figure 16 — Top of Upper Jurassic …………………….….………….………….….…………27 Figure 17 — Top of Paleozoic …………………….….……………….……………….……….28 Figure 18 — Top of Precambrian ……….…………….….….….….….……………..….……..28 Figure 19 — Cenozoic Isopach Map ..………………………………………………...………..30 Figure 20 — Upper Cretaceous Isopach Map ...………………………………………………...31 Figure 21 — Lower Cretaceous Isopach Map ..…………………………………….…………..32 Figure 22 — Upper Jurassic Isopach Map ..………………………………………….…………33 Figure 23 — Paleozoic Isopach Map …..……………………………………………………….34 Figure 24 — Scatter plot of wells BHT versus depth imperial …..…. ...………….….….……..38 Figure 25 — Scatter plot of wells BHT versus depth