Mid-term reviews are important, essential, and usually boring. They are seen as a necessary part of the cumbersome process to ensure that tax-payers money is well enough spent to keep citizens in a neutral mood. A very grey business andRead more
Geo-energy Theme Posts and Events
Pilot area activities – #11 Groundwater monitoring in Bratislava, Slovakia
Installation of new monitoring network to assess shallow geothermal energy resources in a highly urbanized area Bratislava is nowadays a rapidly developing city with growing demands on energy for heating as well as cooling of buildings. The State Geological Institute ofRead more
Meet the Scientist #10 – Katrijn Dirix
Katrijn Dirix is a geological researcher at the Flemish Institute for Technology (Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek – VITO). Before joining VITO in 2014, she did a PhD in geology at the KULeuven with a focus on finding ancient humanRead more
Oil and Gas geomanifestations in the Mura-Zala Basin (Petišovci-Dolina; NE Slovenia)
The most prospective geological area for oil and gas in Slovenia is the Neogene Mura-Zala Basin situated in SW part of the Pannonian Basin System. Within the Mura-Zala Basin, Middle-to-Upper Miocene strata of the Petišovci area have a considerable potentialRead more
Pilot area activities – #10 Hydrogeological characterisation of abandoned mine workings for low-enthalpy geothermal in Glasgow, Scotland
Drilling, installation and testing of 12 boreholes The British Geological Survey is currently constructing a geoenergy observatory in Glasgow, Scotland to provide an underground research facility to study abandoned mine water geothermal heating and cooling. The works started in NovemberRead more
Structural framework teaser
Last week, our project went through its midterm evaluation by GeoERA and external reviewers. This was a great opportunity to stop and assess all the work that we have done so far. As foreseen in the project proposal, we areRead more
Pilot area activities – #9 Geological and Hydrogeological surveys in Cardiff, UK
Field surveys for promoting sustainable geothermal energy use The decarbonisation of urban heating using ground source heat pumps will require significant deployments of shallow geothermal technologies including vertical closed loop (borehole heat exchangers) and open loop systems (thermal groundwater use).Read more
Pilot area activities – #8 Hydrogeological and geothermal surveys in Ljubljana, Slovenia
Installation of new monitoring networks to assess shallow geothermal energy resources Geological Survey of Slovenia (GeoZS) has established continuous measurements of groundwater level, temperature and electrical conductivity in 15 observation wells in the area of the city of Ljubljana. TheRead more
Meet the Scientist #9 – Natalija Samardžić
Natalija Samardžić is a hydrogeologist and geothermal energy expert at the Geological Survey of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federalni zavod za geologiju – FZZG). She works as Advisor for hydrogeology, with 16 years of experience in hydrogeological research ofRead more
Fruška Gora Mt. as a part of the Pannonian Basin: some important geological remarks
Fruška Gora Mt. The Fruška Gora mountain represents an E-W extending block, ridge, graben-horst (width ̴ 15 km, length app. 78-85 km). Crveni Čot is its highest peak, and rises to an altitude of 539 m. The mountain is settledRead more
Pilot area activities – #7 New construction of a shallow geothermal installation in Prague, Czech Republic
How to build a borehole heat exchanger for a single family house The Czech Geological Survey documented the construction process of a shallow geothermal installation in Slivenec municipal district of Prague in January 2020. Owners of a single family houseRead more
Counting bubbles… the saga continues
You might have read about the intriguing bubbly groundwater springs of southeast Belgium in a previous post in this very blog. Called by the local Walloon name ‘pouhons’, these springs have attracted economic and touristic interest for centuries – theseRead more
Pilot area activities – #6 Groundwater monitoring in Girona, Catalonia, Spain
Installation of new monitoring networks to assess shallow geothermal energy resources Shallow geothermal energy for heating and cooling in Catalonia has been growing fast for the last 5 years. The city of Girona (NE of Catalonia, Spain) is anRead more
Meet the Scientist #8 – Isaline Gravaud
Isaline Gravaud is an engineer in the Safety and Performance of Subsurface Uses unit of the Risk and Prevention division of the French Geological Survey (BRGM). She works on risk management of subsurface uses, with a special focus on CO2Read more
Pilot area activities – #5 Geothermal data analysis in Aarhus, Denmark
Screening the possibilities to integrate shallow geothermal energy and energy storage in a mature district heating system In the city of Aarhus heat is supplied by a well-developed district heating system from a number of different energy sources including wasteRead more
Seasons Greetings
Looking back is not something you do every day. Once a year is probably about right, and how better to balance extravagant festivities than with moments of deep reflection. And if you are lucky, both go hand in hand. AmongRead more
Meet the Scientist #7 – Tanja Petrović Pantić
Tanja Petrović Pantić is a senior hydrogeologist at the Geological Survey of Serbia (GSS). Tanja has been working in Geological Survey of Serbia since 2007. Before, she worked 3 years at the Faculty of Mining and Geology. Her PhD thesisRead more
Pilot area activities – #4 Geothermal data collection in Cork City, Ireland
Gathering geochemical and temperature measurements from aquifers in Cork City with the aim to identify potential shallow geothermal energy resources Geological Survey Ireland conducted a groundwater investigation in Cork City (25-28 November 2019) to assess the geochemistry and temperature characteristicsRead more
Thermal waters of the Trans-Carpathian Trough
The first information about the geothermal conditions of the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine was published in the work of geophysicists G.Gandyuk and O.Potushansky in 1956. In 1957, A. Babinets in the work “Geothermal features of the regions of the UkrainianRead more
Pilot area activities – #3 Groundwater monitoring in Zaragoza, Spain
New campaign to measure depth of water level and groundwater temperatures in the city The Geological Survey of Spain established a new measurement campaign to monitor the groundwater in the city of Zaragoza. The monitoring network consists of 45 observationRead more
Natural carbon dioxide emissions as mofettes in Slovenia
Natural CO2 springs and mineral water springs are frequent only in north-east Slovenia. They occur mainly in the alluvial valleys of the Slovenske gorice hills area, at elevation between 200 and 300 m a.s.l. but their number is not unified.Read more
Cross-thematic publications
Van Gessel, S.F., Hinsby, K., Stanley, G., Tulstrup, J., Schavemaker, Y., Piessens, K., Bogaard, PJF (2017). Geological Services towards a Sustainable Use and Management of the Subsurface: A Geoethical Imperative. Annals of Geophysics, 60, 7, DOI: 10.4401/AG-7500. https://www.annalsofgeophysics.eu/index.php/annals/article/download/7500/6869
Meet the Scientist #6 – Tomislav Kurečić
Tomislav Kurečić is a scientific associate at the Croatian Geological Survey (HGI-CGS). He is specialised in sedimentology, with emphasis on recording of sedimentological columns, facies analysis, sedimentary petrology applied to clastic sediments. As part of the HGI-CGS, he is involvedRead more
Pilot area activities – #2 Geological and geophysical surveys in Linköping, Sweden
Field measurements for a High Temperature Energy Storage site (H-BTES) Many feasibility studies, including investigations of the geological conditions, are presently performed for a large-scale energy storage in Linköping. The planned storage will consist of up to 1400 boreholes eachRead more
Sands have a story to tell
Commonly perceived as a beige, grey, white or black pleasantly soft playground for summer pastime, sand is much more. Looked at more closely on this varying mixture of mineral grains or tiny rock fragments, sand of all environments, seashores, lakesides,Read more
Pilot area activities – #1 Groundwater monitoring in Vienna, Austria
Launch of groundwater temperature and level measurements The Geological Survey of Austria (GBA) developed a data logger to measure water level and groundwater temperature in multiple depth levels and to store the data on-site. Such automatic measurements provide more dataRead more
Spectacular creatures in a poisonous sulphidic atmosphere – Movile cave, Romania – 5.5 million years time capsule
Only 240 m length and 12.000 square meters, but an epochal discovery made in 1986 in the south-eastern part of Romania by the Romanian researcher Cristian Lascu (geologist, speleologist and photographer). Some geodesic studies for the location of a thermalRead more
Example of thermal water utilization in the Czech Republic
Utilization of thermal water in the Czech Republic is a very nice example of geomanifestation. Exploration work for oil in southern Moravia (Fig. 1) in 1990 led to a discovery of a natural thermal mineral water, in depth of 1,450Read more
Meet the Scientist #5 – Fernanda Veloso
Fernanda M.L. Veloso is a senior geologist specialised in geological and reservoir modelling for geological storage purposes, mainly for CO2 storage. Before she joined the BRGM (Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières – French Geological Survey) and did her PhDRead more
Timing is everything
As has been extensively discussed in a series of previous blogposts, within GeoConnect³d we are developing a structural framework. While in the initial phase of the project this framework was a rather theoretical concept, after a few months of discussionsRead more
Meet the scientist #4 – Dejan Šram
Dejan Šram finished a BSc in Geology in the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering (Ljubljana, Slovenia) in 2011. Since then he has been working at the Geological Survey of Slovenia (GeoZS) as an expert for 3D modelling and GISRead more
How sport and geology go together
Although one may still view Poland as a country with really bad road network, we are catching up. In 1989, at the beginning of socio-economic changes, 216 km of motorways were used in Poland, next 81,5 km were built betweenRead more
Meet the scientist #3 – Nina Rman
Nina Rman joined the Geological Survey of Slovenia (GeoZS) in 2006 as a PhD student. Her research focussed on regional flow of thermal waters in NE Slovenia, and she spent one semester at the Geothermal institute of University of AucklandRead more
How an unsuccessful exploration well became a geothermal oasis – the case of the Podhájske baths in Slovakia
Today Podhájske is one of the most known and best developed thermal baths of Slovakia, but its story begun with an unsuccessful exploration project for hydrocarbon deposits in the first half of the ’60-ties. The exploration wells were drilled as P-1Read more
The Quaternary – Connect³d
“While we stand holding handsI’m living in the Ice age” – Joy Division Dublin recently hosted INQUA 2019, allegedly the largest-ever gathering of geoscientists in Ireland. As I shuttled between parallel sessions for 6 days trying to absorb knowledge aboutRead more
Global warming on the surface – local warming from plate tectonics: Pannonian Basin
Are we exposed to crossfire here in the middle of Europe? Heating from the atmosphere, heating from the crust and the mantle. The life of the Earth is changing and challenges us again and again. But geology gives us manyRead more
Meet the scientist #2 – Helga Ferket
Helga Ferket is a researcher & policy advisor for the deep subsurface within the Department of Environment working for the Flemish Planning Bureau for the Environment and Spatial Development (VPO). Helga finished her master in geology at KULeuven in 1998Read more
Turning the hottest day on record into an experiment
Abstract Effects of global warming that so far have been neglected, are the impacts on research projects that study global warming solutions. This blog describes the first experiment to study such effects. The preliminary outcomes are worrying. Sudoku-experiments indicate thatRead more
How we deal with our faults
On July 4th 2019 partners of the GeoERA projects HIKE and GeoConnect3d met in Utrecht at TNO-Geological Survey for a joined workshop where they discussed “how to deal with faults”. Whereas the main mission of HIKE is to develop aRead more
Meet the scientist #1 – Kris Piessens
Kris Piessens is the coordinator of GeoConnect³d. He joined the Geological Survey of Belgium (RBINS-GSB) as a geologist in 2002, and was one of the founders of the GeoEnergy research group. He has been carrying out fundamental and applied researchRead more
Geophysical survey in Anderlecht
New geophysical method tested to identify ressources of shallow geothermal energy in urban areas TNO and GSB-GBINS launched an extensive and innovative geophysical survey of 4 days (3-6 June 2019) at the Anderlecht drilling site (Brussels, Belgium). The objective was toRead more
Determining the spatial relationship of slope and alluvial Pleistocene sediments by geoelectrical sounding of southwest slopes of Fruška Gora mountain
INTRODUCTION In the area of the sheet Bačka Palanka 4, in scale 1: 50.000, one of the project tasks included geophysical investigations of parts of the terrain, located southwest of Neštin, south of Ljuba and in the distal zone ofRead more
A survey of presumably hydrocarbons-containing water ponds in the Kog hills (Pannonian Basin, NE Slovenia)
In 2011, we were called to survey several shallow water ponds (wp) in the Kog (KOG) area, which geologically belongs to an antiform termed the Ormož-Selnica Antiform (OSA) (Fig.1). It is built of Neogene marls, sands to sandstones, shales, limestones,Read more
The blood from depths of the SW part of Pannonian basin system
In the ancient times „The blood from depths“ was the name for crude oil. From the time of Neanderthals till now this dark liquid has been changing the world. These kind of geomanifestations significantly influenced areas of SW Pannonian basinRead more
SF part IV: What will I be?
If you stumbled upon this post, you are forgiven to find the next phrases a little quaint. That is because it took three posts (part I, part II and part III) to come to the point where the structural frameworkRead more
SF part III: Light at the end of the tunnel
In the previous part of the series, we drifted further away from finding a solution to build a structural framework. But we also learned a few things, such as that structural geology should not be the only component of theRead more
SF part II: Revolution in the air
A structural framework isn’t an easy concept. If you don’t agree, you may have forgotten to read part I of this post. Or you are just extremely smart. Last week we stopped after showing that a structural framework is aRead more
SF part I: Disagreeing on a structural framework
In the beginning… we agreed on very little. Some partners of GeoConnect³d didn’t pay too much attention to some other partners that were claiming that a structural framework would make a big difference. After all, a structural framework is nothingRead more
Gravity doesn’t lie, does it?
An Australian-Canadian friend and former colleague in Australia, with many years of experience in gravity and magnetic data interpretation, used to tell me: “gravity doesn’t lie”. What geophysicists and geologists measure with gravity data are actually variations in gravitational accelerationRead more
MUSE team meeting in Cardiff, UK
Project partners from geological surveys across Europe converged in Cardiff (UK) between 26th to 29th March for the second MUSE (Managing Urban Shallow geothermal Energy) project workshop. The 3-Day meeting was held in a tower in Cardiff Castle and includedRead more
Towards a project vocabulary: geological concepts for humans and computers
GeoConnect³d aims to provide to stakeholders a coherent geological context for evaluating subsurface applications and resolving subsurface management issues. For this, two concepts were introduced: structural framework and geomanifestations. Besides the database, the geological structures and manifestations that will beRead more
The slow cooking of the Earth in big pots!
Noticed for the first time in 1867 by the Frenchman H. Cognand during oil exploration in Romania, the Mud Volcanoes from Berca, Buzău county, from the central part of the Subcarpathians of Curvature, are not only spectacular geomanifestations, but alsoRead more
Greenhouse-gas neutral Europe and the role of geology
In November 2018, the European Commission presented its communication titled ”A Clean Planet for all: A European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy”. The document did not attract much attention by the media, notRead more
Can seismic amplitude anomalies in the Campine Basin be related to geomanifestations?
Due to the thick overburden by Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic sediments, geomanifestations are not often present at the surface, but rather restricted to the subsurface of Flanders. One way to visualize geomanifestations in the subsurface is by the use ofRead more
Tracking the history for a new prospection of subsurface assets
Located in the South-Eastern Poland, the Holy Cross Mountains are known for many places of occurrence of hydrothermal metal-bearing vein mineralization. In many ways, ores located here are similar to those known in historical mining districts of the Schwarzwald orRead more
Geothermics and Geomanifestations (2)
A geothermal terrain of outstanding geomanifestations The Afar Triangle, overlapping the borders of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti, is a segment of proto-oceanic crust in the Afro-Arabian Rift System where the spreading ridges that are forming the Red Sea and theRead more
Geothermics and Geomanifestations (1)
A geothermal bonanza bare of geomanifestations Distinct local expressions of ongoing or past geological processes are referred to as geomanifestations. Many of them result from anomalies that may be an indicator of a “geopotential” in terms of subsurface resources capableRead more
The Irish border problem
“Tomorrow I’ll walk these tracks That will lead me across the border” – Bruce Springsteen At some point during the creation of the Geoconnect3d project, when a lot of survey geologists from around Europe were crammed in a room andRead more
Knowledge Exchange Workshop of MUSE and HotLime projects held in Zagreb
On 23-24 January 2019 a knowledge exchange workshop of the GeoERA projects MUSE and HotLime was held in Zagreb, Croatia. The Croatian Geological Survey, partner in both projects, hosted the workshop. Topic of the workshop was temperature modelling for geothermalRead more
Geomanifestation or Spa City? BOTH!
Budapest is famous for its thermal spas so we can easily point out: this is a GEOMANIFESTATION. And indeed it is. “Behind” the city there are mainly carbonate and dolomite mountains (the main aquifer is Upper Triassic) with a hugeRead more
MUSE leaflet available now
Hot out of the press The MUSE Leaflet in English language is now available. Find out what is behind MUSE and no, we are not the rockband from UK! The project MUSE supports the efficient and sustainable use of shallowRead more
Geomanifestations – how uncommon mineral occurrences can help to reveal geological evolution processes
A manifestation is the appearance or sign of something that exists or happens. Taking this concept to the geological world, the GeoERA research programme defines geomanifestation as any distinct local expression of a geological process, past or ongoing. These expressions,Read more
GeoERA Technical Workshop GeoEnergy and others
History and structure of the Danube and Transcarpathian basins in Slovakia
The Pannonian Basin is situated in the middle of the European mountain ranges – the Carpathian arc, Dinarides and Eastern Alps. Surrounding mountains show their beautiful face but only geologists know how complicated the structures of the rocks are atRead more
A story of water and bubbles
As a follow-up on the hairdresser’s blog entry, we remain in the beauty department. For – literally – centuries, people from all over the European continent have been traveling to a little town in the southeast of Belgium to enjoyRead more
Far NE Pannonian Basin – Trans-Carpathian Trough of Ukraine
The north-east part of the Pannonian Basin, actually its narrow band, is known in Ukraine as the Trans-Carpathian Trough. The region is located to the south-west from the Ukrainian Carpathians and is extensively eroded, with narrow ridges, steep (25-40o) slopes,Read more
Season’s greetings with a geologist’s perspective…
With Christmas just behind us, and New Year approaching fast, the world is now half-way in that time of year that is reserved for wishing everyone the best for yet another year. You have certainly received enough blessings from friends,Read more
Geomanifestations – Acoustic Bright Spots and Shallow Gas in the Netherlands
Introduction Geomanifestations are defined as distinct expressions of an ongoing or past geological process at surface or at depth. Gas seeps and subsurface accumulations fit this definition and in this blog we show some examples of shallow gas manifestations inRead more
The MUSE team met in Essen, Germany
Essen, November 27 – 29 From November 27 to 28, the MUSE team organized the first partner workshop in Essen, Germany. The workshop was linked to the German Geothermal Congress (DGK), which represents one of the largest annual scientific geothermalRead more
Would you fund GeoConnect³d?
As you by now know (or should know), GeoConnect³d is a project that is not ordinary. Your average project will promise to deliver something, or resolve an issue, come up with an evaluation… The typical project is goal oriented. That is an attractive formula, because theRead more
Significant geomanifestations along the contact of South Pannonian Basin and Dinaride Ophiolite Zone in Bosnia and Herzegovina
In the present structure of the Dinarides an important role have the South Pannonian Basin. The South Pannonian Basin is located in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Spreča-Kozara deep fault represents the northern boundary of the DinarideRead more
Geomanifestations in North Serbia (Vojvodina)
The Panonnian basin is located in the Northern part of Serbia. That province of Serbia is called Vojvodina, with three regions: Banat, Bačka and Srem. This area is specific with a thinned Earth’s crust of only 25,5 km to 29 km, as a result of geodynamic movement. The average heat flow is between 83 and 111 mW/m2 (continental average 60 mW/m2), indicating a significant geothermal potential. From a geological point ofRead more
The story of medical oil – Naphtalan
The area around Ivanić-Grad is one of the oldest Croatian oil and gas provinces. This is a place which is better known as “Croatian Kuwait”. But that’s not all. People don’t use the oil and gas only for transportation andRead more
What kind of meeting…?
What kind of meeting did you have today? Well, we scientists, we classify and structure everything, and when it comes to important meetings, my system involves three important types: a regular meeting, a pie-meeting, and a chocolate-pie-meeting. Today we hadRead more
Subsurface management
The subsurface plays nowadays an important role as it provides essential resources: drinking water, hydrocarbons, raw materials and heat, etc., as well as the capacity for large-scale fluid storage (natural gas, liquid or liquefied hydrocarbons). Yet, the use of theRead more
Geomanifestations in North East Slovenia
Slovenia is positioned in an area with ongoing convergence between the Adriatic microplate and the Eurasian plate. This results in a noticeable number of active faults – exhibiting deformation during the Quaternary, which are mostly dextral strike-slip faults. Their directionRead more
Updated AOI for the R2R area
And here it is! After careful consideration of project scope, available data and commitment of the different partner organisations (see also previous blog post), the area of interest (AOI) for R2R was updated to its final shape. ThisRead more
Geomanifestations?!
Ever heard of geomanifestations? A geomanifestation is any distinct expression of an ongoing or past geological process. They often point to specific geologic conditions. Examples include seismicity, gas seeps, local compositional differences in groundwater and springs, thermal anomalies, mineral occurrences,Read more
Ground to cover for R2R, or how to define an Area of Interest
Months are spent on writing a project proposal, thinking it through, and rewriting it until you are fully convinced that all bases are covered. That leaves a good feeling, which usually lasts until, well, the project is accepted. During theRead more