Correlation of Aerogravity and BHT Data to Develop a Geothermal Gradient Map of the Northern Western Desert of Egypt using an Artificial Neural Network

Mohamed, Haby S.; Zaher, M. A.; Senosy, Mahmoud M.; Saibi, Hakim; Nouby, Mohamed El; Fairhead, J.D.

doi:10.1007/s00024-014-0998-1

Cited by 30 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The temperature records obtained from the two wells adjacent to the research region exhibit typical temperature gradients that align with the range observed and computed in other studies conducted in the Western Desert 22 , 55 , 56 . Since these wells draw water from the shallow aquifer at a depth of approximately 300 m, they indicate that the groundwater is unaffected by the high temperature caused by the phenomenon under study and that this phenomenon occurs close to the Earth's surface.…”

Section: Integrated Results and Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Origin of mysterious geothermal gas emissions in the middle of the Western Desert, stable shelf area, Dakhla Oasis, Egypt

Abdel Zaher,

El-Hadidy,

El-Qady

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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This work responds to what was reported in various audio-visual media channels and to queries and explanations from individuals and local residents on the causes of gaseous and thermal emissions from the Earth near the vicinity of the village of Al-Hindaw in Dakhla city, New Valley Governorate, Egypt. At the location of the fume exit area, magnetic, seismic, and electromagnetic geophysical investigations were carried out to identify the factor(s) responsible for the event in question. Rock samples were collected and studied geochemically and radiographically to assess their chemical compositions, as well as the quantity of organic chemicals that may have contributed to the burning and temperature increase. In light of the results of the geochemical and geophysical research, it is believed that the self-ignitions are the result of near-surface reactions and oxidation instead of volcanic activity, such as the presence of magma or other comparable phenomena.

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Section: Integrated Results and Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Origin of mysterious geothermal gas emissions in the middle of the Western Desert, stable shelf area, Dakhla Oasis, Egypt

Abdel Zaher,

El-Hadidy,

El-Qady

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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“…As a result of associating temperature records from 116 deep oil wells in the Northwestern Desert of Egypt with gravity data, ref. [20] developed a new geothermal gradient map of the Northwestern Desert of Egypt, including the Siwa Oasis, using artificial neural network techniques. Prediction maps showed geothermal gradients ranging from 20 to 40 • C/km and permanent temperature gradients of 30 • C/km in the northern Western Desert.…”

Section: Geothermal Regime In Egyptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration of Geophysical and Geospatial Techniques to Evaluate Geothermal Energy at Siwa Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt

Ghoneim,

Healey,

Hemida

et al. 2023

Remote Sensing

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Environmental degradation is reducing crop productivity in many regions of Egypt. Moreover, unsustainable surface water drainage contributes to salinized soil conditions, which negatively impact crops. Egypt is seeking solutions to mitigate the problem of surface water drawdown and its consequences by exploring renewable and sustainable sources of energy. Geothermal energy and the desalination of saline water represent the only solutions to overcoming the fresh water shortage in agricultural industry and to providing sustainable fresh water and electricity to villages and the Bedouin livelihood. In Egypt, the Siwa Oasis contains a cluster of thermal springs, making the area an ideal location for geothermal exploration. Some of these thermal springs are characterized by high surface temperatures reaching 20 °C to 40 °C, and the bottom-hole temperatures (BHT) range from 21 °C to 121.7 °C. Pre-Cambrian basement rocks are usually more than 440 m deep, ranging from 440 m to 4724.4 m deep. It is this feature that makes the Siwa Oasis locality sufficient for geothermal power production and industrial processes. This study utilized both the Horner and the Gulf of Mexico correction methods to determine the formation temperatures from BHT data acquired from 27 deep oil wells. The present study revealed a geothermal gradient ranging from 18 to 42 °C/km, a heat flux of 24.7–111.3 mW/m2, and a thermal conductivity of 1.3–2.65 W/m/k. The derived geothermal, geophysical, and geological layers were combined together with space data and the topographic layer to map relevant physiographic variables including land surface elevation, depth to basement, lineament density, land surface temperature, and geologic rock units. The ten produced variables were integrated in GIS to model the geothermal potential map (GTP) for the Siwa Oasis region. According to the model, both the eastern side and north and northeastern portions of the study region contain high and very high geothermal potential energy. Combining bottom-hole temperature measurements with satellite remote sensing and geospatial analysis can considerably enhance geothermal prospecting in Egypt and other East African areas that have geologically and tectonically similar settings. In addition to identifying sustainable resources needed for food production, this research has implications for renewable energy resources as well.

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“…For example, ref. [98] correlated both aerogravity and bottom-hole temperature data to delineate the subsurface/sediment temperature. In this study, sediment temperature formed an evident layer and was used to map possible geothermal regions in Nigeria and the data were extracted from areas mapped with aerogravity map datasets in the literature.…”

Section: Fundingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of an Improved Decision Support Tool for Geothermal Site Selection in Nigeria Based on Comprehensive Criteria

Nwaiwu,

Leach,

Liu

2023

Energies

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Geothermal resource assessment is crucial for the rural electrification of Nigeria. A comprehensive set of criteria was used to appraise promising geothermal sites in Nigeria. The evaluation of the sites was performed using the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method and taking into account evidence of a wide range of criteria from a set of geological, geophysical, well log, environmental, remote sensing, and geochemical datasets to appraise promising geothermal sites and to add to the current debate on the needed criteria for geothermal development. To gather relevant data, various sources such as bottom-hole temperature (BHT) data from different boreholes and oil and gas wells, aeromagnetic maps, reduced-to-the-pole, magnetic, heat flow, seismic, and geothermal gradient data from aerogravity maps, Bouguer anomaly maps, earthquake epicenter maps, satellite images, and geological maps were obtained from the literature. A case study of the thirty-six states of Nigeria, including the federal capital territory, Abuja (FCT), was conducted to illustrate how these criteria would reveal the technical aspect of the geothermal energy situation. A model was developed to show that the application of a wide range of criteria to the six datasets identified and analyzed in this study reveals that the datasets complement each other and should not be used independently. It can be found from the overall suitability map that more than 20% of the study area is suitable for geothermal energy development. It can also be observed from the map that some of the promising sites in Nigeria may include but are not limited to Bauchi, FCT, Taraba, Ebonyi, Adamawa, Oyo, and Nasarawa states in Nigeria. The opportunities for the further application of the approach are discussed, including the use of the model to help policymakers decide where to invest in the future.

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Correlation of Aerogravity and BHT Data to Develop a Geothermal Gradient Map of the Northern Western Desert of Egypt using an Artificial Neural Network

Cited by 30 publications

References 37 publications

Origin of mysterious geothermal gas emissions in the middle of the Western Desert, stable shelf area, Dakhla Oasis, Egypt

Origin of mysterious geothermal gas emissions in the middle of the Western Desert, stable shelf area, Dakhla Oasis, Egypt

Integration of Geophysical and Geospatial Techniques to Evaluate Geothermal Energy at Siwa Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt

Development of an Improved Decision Support Tool for Geothermal Site Selection in Nigeria Based on Comprehensive Criteria

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