T015-0003
Subsurface geothermal potential of the Baia Mare region (Romania)

Wednesday, 9 December 2020
Poster
Carmen Gaina1, Alexander Minakov1, Ionelia Panea2, Victor I Mocanu2, Liviu-Ciprian Matenco3, Lucian Petrescu2 and Valentina Magni4, (1)University of Oslo, Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED), Oslo, Norway, (2)University of Bucharest, Department of Geophysics, Bucharest, Romania, (3)Utrecht University, Utrecht, 3584, Netherlands, (4)University of Oslo, CEED, Oslo, Norway
Abstract:
The Baia Mare area, located in the northwestern part of Romania, is a Neogene depression in the Pannonian Basin, developed south of the volcanic Tibles-Gutai Mountains. The pre-Neogene basement contains metamorphic rocks of Precambrian and Precambrian-Paleozoic ages and sedimentary rocks of Jurassic, Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene ages. Magmatic activity that started in the Middle Miocene formed a volcanic chain that cuts and interbeds with Neogene sedimentary deposits.

Baia Mare region has the highest values of heat flow recorded to date in Romania. Geothermal measurements showed a geothermal gradient of 4.5-5.5oC/100 m and temperatures higher than 140oC at depths greater than 3000 m. It follows that, according to measured high heat flow values in this region, the existent geological structures present high geothermal potential.

In Romania, most of the geothermal reservoirs were identified during surveys performed for hydrocarbon exploration. In this project we undertake a detailed study of the Baia Mare area and combine geological, geophysical, geochemical and hydrogeological available and new data for assessing its geothermal potential. We plan to collect new geophysical (seismic, magnetotelluric and magnetic) data, together with geochemical and hydrogeological data.

The knowledge of deep lithospheric structure is important for the characterisation of sedimentary basins with a geothermal exploration potential. In this contribution we will review the existent geophysical data and discuss the planned steps to construct a regional 3D lithospheric model. From the available seismic data collected for hydrocarbon exploration, we expect to obtain detailed structural information for depths up to 6 km, including the location of a local active fault system. The information for building the 3D lithospheric model at depths greater than 6 km is obtained from gravity, magnetic, temperature and thermochronological data available in the public domain.

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