Regional Geophysical Study of the Athabasca Region, Northeastern Alberta: Implications for Geothermal Development

• Author / Creator

  Poureslami Ardakani, Elahe

• The Athabasca region located in Northeast Alberta, Canada, hosts many ongoing projects of bitumen extraction from Cretaceous oil sand and Devonian carbonate reservoirs. Despite the importance of the Athabasca region as one of the largest bitumen reserves in the world, the geology and geophysics of the area remains to a large degree poorly understood. In addition, the exploitation and production of these bitumen resources is environmentally and economically expensive and challenging. The main objective of this study is to reduce the knowledge gap of the sedimentary basin and crystalline basement by assembling multidisciplinary geophysical data to assist in investigation of the area, and provide solution for the environmental impact caused by bitumen production by assessing the potential of geothermal energy within the sedimentary formations. Interpretation of the integrated seismic-well data allows for a detailed mapping of the Grosmont topographic variations related to karst-driven erosion and some key structural maps above and below the SubMannville Unconformity. Below this unconformity, we demonstrate via 3D stratigraphy and property modeling, that wide distribution of heat values is available within five Paleozoic aquifers of Keg River, Waterways, Cooking Lake, Leduc, and Grosmont. These low enthalpy geothermal reservoirs could reduce the environmental impact of oil sand production if heat-pump technologies are used. A study of magnetic lineaments in the sedimentary basin reveals the existence of a dyke swarm referred to as the Buffalo Creek dyke field. These dykes may be related to the Farallon plate subduction under the west coast of the North American Plate. Furthermore, the tectonic boundary of Taltson Magmatic Zone and Buffalo Head Terrane is located using the Euler deconvolution of the aeromagnetic data.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Geothermal
  • Geophysical study
  • Seismic reflection
  • Intrusiv dyke
  • Integrated interpretation
  • Athabasca region
  • Aeromagnetic
  • Northeastern Alberta
  • Grosmont Formation
  • Taltson magmatic zone

• Graduation date

  Fall 2016

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3H98ZN17

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.