Type:
Research Report, Student Research
Link:
Application of magnetotelluric data to geothermal exploration at Watson Lake, Yukon
Authors:
Erich G. Slobodian, Martyn J. Unsworth, Cedar Hanneson, and Zoë Vestrum, University of Alberta
Citation:
Slobodian, E. G., Unsworth, M. J., Hanneson, C., & Vestrum, Z. (2023). Application of magnetotelluric data to geothermal exploration at Watson Lake, Yukon. Geoconvention. Calgary, Alberta.
Abstract:
The community of Watson Lake, Yukon depends on diesel generators for electric power generation, making it reliant on fuel shipments from the south. Geothermal energy production is being explored as a potential alternative energy source for the community. Studies have shown that relatively high heat flow values are found over much of the southern Yukon. To utilize subsurface heat, the Tintina Fault system could potentially provide a source of permeable, fractured rock that would allow for fluid circulation that would recover the heat (Majorowicz and Grasby, 2014; Witter et al., 2018). However, the exact location of the Tintina fault in the vicinity of Watson Lake is poorly constrained due to extensive glacial till cover.
Acknowledgements:
Funding for this project was provided by Liard First Nation, the Yukon Geological Survey, and the University of Alberta’s CFREF funded Future Energy Systems. We would like to thank Travis Stewart and Zuneza Cove from Liard First Nation as well as John Ebell for their help in this project. The Digital Research Alliance of Canada is thanked for providing the use of their Cedar computational cluster for the data inversions and the authors of the ModEM software are thanked for allowing the use of their inversion algorithms. We would also like to thank Robbie Porter for providing transportation along the Liard River during data collection.