Suzanne Hurter

Bio: Suzanne Hurter is an academic researcher from University of Queensland. The author has contributed to research in topics: Geothermal gradient & Coal. The author has an hindex of 14, co-authored 50 publications receiving 2274 citations. Previous affiliations of Suzanne Hurter include Schlumberger & Royal Dutch Shell.

Heat flow from the Earth's interior: Analysis of the global data set

Abstract: We present a new estimate of the Earth's heat loss based on a new global compilation of heat flow measurements comprising 24,774 observations at 20,201 sites. On a 5 o x 5 o grid, the observations cover 62% of the Earth's surface. Empirical estimators, ref- erenced to geological map units and derived from the observations, enable heat flow to be estimated in areas without measurements. Corrections for the effects of hydrothermal circulation in the oceanic crest compen- sate for the advected heat undetected in measurements of the conductive heat flux. The mean heat flows of continents and oceans are 65 and 101 mW m -2, re- spectively, which when areally weighted yield a global mean of 87 mW m -2 and a global heat loss of 44.2 x 10 2 W, an increase of some 4-8% over earlier esti- mates. More than half of the Earth's heat loss comes from Cenozoic oceanic lithosphere. A spherical hat- monic analysis of the global heat flow field reveals strong sectoral components and lesser zonal strength. The spectrum principally reflects the geographic dis- tribution of the ocean ridge system. The rate at which the heat flow spectrum loses strength with increasing harmonic degree is similar to the decline in spectral strength exhibited by the Earth's topography. The spectra of the gravitational and magnetic fields fall off much more steeply, consistent with field sources in the lower mantle and core, respectively. Families of con- tinental and oceanic conductive geotherms indicate the range of temperatures existing in the lithosphere under various surface heat flow conditions. The heat flow field is very well correlated with the seismic shear wave velocity distribution near the top of the upper mantle.

Baseline characterization of the CO2SINK geological storage site at Ketzin, Germany

Abstract: Since April 2004, preparatory work prior to CO2 injection has been conducted in the CO2SINK Project, the European Union's first research and development activity on the in-situ testing of geological storage of CO2 near the town of Ketzin, Germany. Carbon dioxide will be injected into a saline aquifer of the Triassic Stuttgart Formation in an anticlinal structure of the northeast German Basin. The drilling of one injection and two observation wells will commence at the end of 2006. The predrilling phase focuses on the baseline geological parameters of the anticline. The Stuttgart Formation is lithologically heterogeneous; it consists of sandy channel-(string)-facies rocks, with good reservoir properties alternating with muddy flood-plain-facies rocks of poor reservoir quality. Playa-type rocks form the immediate cap rock above the CO2SINK reservoir. A geostatistical approach has been applied to describe the reservoir architecture between and beyond well control. This model forms the basis for the generation of reservoir-dynamic models of CO2 injection that assist in the planning of injection operations and in the understanding of CO2 plume evolution. A verification of the geometry of the reservoir and the structural situation of its overburden is expected from a three-dimensional baseline seismic survey that was conducted in the autumn of 2005. Laboratory experiments under simulated in-situ conditions were performed to evaluate the geophysical signature of rocks saturated with CO2. The chemical composition of the groundwater and the CO2 flux in the soil were analyzed across the Ketzin anticline, providing the baseline for a monitoring program during and after injection of CO2, targeted at the detection of potential CO2 leakage from the storage reservoir.

Past Temperatures Directly from the Greenland Ice Sheet

Abstract: A Monte Carlo inverse method has been used on the temperature profiles measured down through the Greenland Ice Core Project (GRIP) borehole, at the summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and the Dye 3 borehole 865 kilometers farther south. The result is a 50, 000-year-long temperature history at GRIP and a 7000-year history at Dye 3. The Last Glacial Maximum, the Climatic Optimum, the Medieval Warmth, the Little Ice Age, and a warm period at 1930 A.D. are resolved from the GRIP reconstruction with the amplitudes -23 kelvin, +2.5 kelvin, +1 kelvin, -1 kelvin, and +0.5 kelvin, respectively. The Dye 3 temperature is similar to the GRIP history but has an amplitude 1.5 times larger, indicating higher climatic variability there. The calculated terrestrial heat flow density from the GRIP inversion is 51.3 milliwatts per square meter.

Global Energy Assessment: Toward a Sustainable Future

Abstract: The Global Energy Assessment (GEA) brings together over 300 international researchers to provide an independent, scientifically based, integrated and policy-relevant analysis of current and emerging energy issues and options. It has been peer-reviewed anonymously by an additional 200 international experts. The GEA assesses the major global challenges for sustainable development and their linkages to energy; the technologies and resources available for providing energy services; future energy systems that address the major challenges; and the policies and other measures that are needed to realize transformational change toward sustainable energy futures. The GEA goes beyond existing studies on energy issues by presenting a comprehensive and integrated analysis of energy chalenges, opportunities and strategies, for developing, industrialized and emerging economies. This volume is a invaluable resource for energy specialists and technologists in all sectors (academia, industry and government) as well as policymakers, development economists and practitioners in international organizations and national governments.