3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
[S25-P-03] A geothermal resource assessment based on GIS analysis of multiple parameters for the Guanzhong Basin, NW China
The Guanzhong Basin, also known as Weihe Basin, in Shaanxi Province of NW China is a Cenozoic allusive basin of graben origin. It is situated between the Qinling Mountain on the south and Beishan Mountain on the north with an area of about 36,000 km^2. The basin is rich in low to medium temperature geothermal fluids. There are currently about 200 geothermal wells in this basin, tapping hot water mainly from four aquifers at the depths between 400 and 4000 m. Data from multiple sources such as heat flow, borehole temperature, geological structure and stratum, earthquake catalog, crustal electrical structure, remote sensing imagery, and socioeconomic data are assembled into a GIS platform to facilitate better assessments of resource, demand and application potential. Heat flow within the basin varies in the range of 62-80 mW/m^2, with a mean of 71 mW/m^2 which is substantially higher than the regional mean. Based on geological structure, the basin can be divided into six uplift/depression segments. Geothermal resource is found to be most enriched in the Xi'an Depression where the maximum Cenozoic sedimentary thickness reaches 7,000 m. Light to moderate earthquake epicenters are concentrated along the boundaries of the uplift-depression boundaries. With a population of over 8.5 million, the Xi'an - Xianyang area is the most populated and economically developed area in the basin. The abundant geothermal resource is coincided with high demand for renewable energy to sustain the economic and social development in this area. Our analysis shows that geothermal resource can play an increasingly important role in the socio-economic and environmental development of the Guanzhong Basin in general, and Xi'an – Xianyang area in particular.