Taking measurements of fractures in basalt rocks on the shores of Great Slave Lake.
Credit: Dan Ngoyo Mandemvo
Three master's students from Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) are exploring the geothermal potential in Yellowknife and Nunavik in the Northwest Territories and in northern Quebec.
In 2020, the expeditions of several research teams were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Jasmin Raymond is very happy to see the students of his team on the ground again this summer.
Professor Jasmin Raymond and student Dan Ngoyo Mandemvo are collaborating with the Geological Survey of the Northwest Territories, carrying out field work at the former Con gold mine to determine feasibility of geothermal heating for the city of Yellowknife.
In Nunavik, two other teams are working under the supervision of Félix-Antoine Comeau, a research officer in Professor Raymond’s group. At Whapmagoostui-Kuujjuarapik, student Hubert Langevin focuses on underground thermal storage. A little further north, in Umiujaq, student David Moreno studies geological formations.
From geothermal energy to Yellowknife ...
On the edge of an outcrop near Great Slave Lake, Professor Raymond and student Dan Ngoyo Mandemvo measure fracture spacing in rock. This fieldwork allows them to assess the permeability of the rock, an important factor in determining its geothermal potential.
“It’s a former gold mine, now filled with water. It offers a large geothermal reservoir which, thanks to heat pumps, could heat and cool buildings. ” – Jasmin Raymond, scientific manager of the open geothermal laboratory.
In addition to the permeability of the rock, the two researchers must determine the temperature profile in the old ventilation shafts of the mine and outside, in old exploration drilling. The information they came to seek in the field will be used to develop a digital model by Dan Ngoyo Mandemvo. This model will simulate the groundwater flow and heat transfer processes to replicate the operation of the geothermal system. "All the field data will allow us to know how much energy we could extract from the mine," reports Professor Raymond, holder of the INQ Research Chair on the geothermal potential of the North .
… Thermal storage in Nunavik!
Thousands of kilometers away, in Nunavik, two other teams are at work under the supervision of Félix-Antoine Comeau, research officer in Professor Raymond's group. The members of these teams assess the geothermal potential in the villages of Whapmagoostui-Kuujjuarapik and Umiujaq.
At Whapmagoostui-Kuujjuarapik, student Hubert Langevin focuses on underground thermal storage. “It determines whether it will be possible to produce heat, send it into the ground, then withdraw it in winter to heat the buildings,” explains Jasmin Raymond. Using a heating cable, the student set out to test the thermal properties of the soil with heat injection tests.
A little further north, in Umiujaq, student David Moreno studies geological formations. “Here, we are thinking of using a geothermal heat pump, which extracts heat from the ground. With this approach, we also want to contribute to the stability of permafrost by cooling it to heat buildings. "