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Discovery of a new type of geothermal energy resource in Utah offers hope for significantly more potential across the western U.S., and a boost in geothermal power production. In 2011 and 2012, Utah Geological Survey geoscientists, in partnership with a U.S. Geological Survey research drilling crew, drilled nine temperature gradient holes in Utah’s Black Rock Desert basin south of Delta in western Utah to test a new concept that high-temperature geothermal resources might exist beneath young sedimentary basins.  Preliminary results show that near-surface temperature gradients in the basin vary from about 33⁰F/1000 feet to 55⁰F/1000 feet.  This implies temperatures of 300 to 500⁰F at 10,000 to 13,000 feet depth beneath the basin. Given the large area of this basin, the power potential is conservatively estimated to be hundreds of megawatts, and preliminary economic modeling suggests a cost of electricity of about 10c per kilowatt-hour over the life of a geothermal power project. This basin is especially attractive for geothermal development because of the existing nearby infrastructure ─ it is next to a large coal-fired power plant, a 300 MWe wind farm, and a major electrical transmission line to California.

The project findings are being presented on Monday, October 1, at the annual meeting of the Geothermal Resources Council in Reno, Nevada.

 

This issue contains:

Utah’s Potash Resources and Activity
Energy News: A Longer Term View of the Results of U.S. Energy Policy
UGS Uses Geophysics to Explore for New Geothermal Resources
Oil Shale vs. Shale Oil: What’s the Difference?
Glad You Asked: Sizing Up Titans—Navajo Erg vs. Sahara Ergs; Which was the larger sand box?
GeoSights: Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah
Survey News
Teacher’s Corner
New Publications

 

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Martharaptor greenriverensis, a puzzling dinosaur lacking a complete skeleton, has been named after its co-discoverer Martha Hayden. Hayden, a dedicated advocate of paleontology, has served for more than 20 years as the assistant to several Utah state paleontologists. She has also donated numerous volunteer hours in her paleontological endeavors, and works with the Utah Geological Survey (UGS).

The dinosaur’s remains were found in the roughly 125-million-year-old rock of the Cedar Mountain Formation southeast of Green River, Utah, and collected under permit from the Bureau of Land Management and placed into the collections of the Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City.

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LATE HOLOCENE EARTHQUAKE HISTORY OF THE BRIGHAM CITY SEGMENT OF THE WASATCH FAULT ZONE AT THE HANSEN CANYON, KOTTER CANYON, AND PEARSONS CANYON TRENCH SITES, BOX ELDER COUNTY, UTAH

By Christopher B. DuRoss, Stephen F. Personius, Anthony J. Crone, Greg N. McDonald, and Richard W. Briggs

This report (28 p. + 5 appendices, and 3 plates) presents new information on the timing and displacement of late Holocene surface-faulting earthquakes on the Brigham City segment of the Wasatch fault zone, collected as part of a joint Utah Geological Survey and U.S. Geological Survey seismic-hazard evaluation. Paleoseismic data from two trench sites on the northern Brigham City segment (Hansen Canyon and Kotter Canyon sites) confirm the timing of the youngest surface-faulting earthquake, and results from a trench site on the previously unstudied southern part of the segment (Pearsons Canyon site) have important fault-segmentation implications. These results help clarify the timing, recurrence, and extent of large-magnitude earthquakes on the Brigham City segment, which will help improve seismic-hazard evaluations of the region. This study was partially funded by the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program.

Special Study 142    $19.95

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GREAT SALT LAKE BRINE CHEMISTRY DATABASE, 1966–2011

by Andrew Rupke and Ammon McDonald

This open-file release includes a brief 7-page report and the Great Salt Lake brine chemistry database in digital format. The report briefly describes the Great Salt Lake brine sampling program and database that the Utah Geological Survey has conducted and maintained since 1966. The Great Salt Lake brine chemistry database includes information on chemistry, salinity, and density of Great Salt Lake brine samples that have been collected from over 50 locations on Great Salt Lake. For this release the database has been reorganized into one Excel spreadsheet file for ease of use.

Open-File Report 596      $14.95

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MODERATELY SALINE GROUNDWATER IN THE UINTA BASIN, UTAH

By Paul B. Anderson, Michael D. Vanden Berg, Stephanie Carney, Craig Morgan, and Sonja Heuscher

The base of the moderately saline water (BMSW) (10,000 mg/L TDS transition) in the Uinta Basin was first mapped in 1987 and re-mapped in this study using similar methods.  Water samples from primarily oil and gas activities through the basin’s history were compiled into a database (2788 records) and used as an aid in mapping.  In addition, geophysical logs from 260 wells distributed throughout the basin were interpreted and used in mapping the BMSW.  Regional groundwater flow paths, saline minerals, structural shape of the basin, and faults and fractures strongly influence the distribution of TDS levels.  Both older and new data points were used to create an elevation contour map of the position of the shallowest occurrence of the BMSW below the surface.  Depth-correlated water analysis data were mapped and compared to the log-derived BMSW.  Mapped water analysis data indicate the northern portion of the basin has numerous occurrences of water fresher than 10,000 mg/L below the BMSW, indicating a complex stratification of salinity coincident with the area of primary recharge, whereas shallow saline waters dominate the central portion of the basin. 30-page report + 9 plates

Special Study 144    $24.95

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Interim Geologic Map of the Rush Valley 30′ x 60′ Quadrangle, Tooele, Utah, and Salt Lake Counties, Utah

By Donald L. Clark, Stefan M. Kirby, and Charles G. Oviatt

This CD contains two plates—the geologic map at 1:62,500 scale and the explanation sheet—plus a 62-page booklet, all in PDF format.

Open-File Report 593    $19.95

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