As global momentum builds toward achieving carbon neutrality, geothermal energy remains a critical and sustainable resource. As a result, industry stakeholders and decision-makers benefit from better information to help identify viable geothermal resources more than ever.
To that end, the Bureau of Economic Geology’s HotRock Geothermal Research Consortium, supported by Project InnerSpace, directly contributes to develop GeoMap™ Beta, a pivotal tool for geothermal prospecting.
HotRock’s recent work integrates 66,000 data points from three subsets of the SMU heat flow database (shown on map below) with the Association of American State Geologists database, and aligns it to International Heat Flow Commission (IHFC) standards.
This enhances the reliability and usability of the U.S. subsurface resources database, providing high-quality, standardized data, and enables professionals and policymakers in the geothermal industry to make informed decisions.
Recognized for its importance, the work was published in the IHFC's 2024 release of the significantly expanded Global Heat Flow Database (GHFDB). Inclusion in such a crucial global initiative marks a huge milestone for both the consortium and researchers Dr. Mohamed Shafik Khaled, Bissett Young, and Dr. Ken Wisian.
Spatial Distribution of U.S. Geothermal Data Points - This comprehensive map depicts the geographic locations of data entries from the AASG, Cornell, SMU BHT, and SMU HF databases. Each symbol represents the database's contributions to the national compilation and is aligned with IHFC standards.
