Environmental and energetic implications of the geothermal anomalies in the Eastern Po Plan

Abstract

The present research is devoted to contributing on the characterization of the low-to-medium enthalpy geothermal resources existing in the broader Ferrara-Modena territory, Northern Italy. To achieve the goal, first, we analysed temperature data in selected deep boreholes to estimate the local thermophysical parameters of the underground. In order to discriminate the influence of the circulation fluids and then estimate the real temperature values of the surrounding rocks, we applied different methodological approaches. Secondly, different deep seismic reflection profiles for hydrocarbon exploration were analysed to evaluate the main lithological formation and tectonic assessment. Thirdly, we elaborated hydrochemical data obtained from borehole and temperature logs measurement to estimate the influence of the deep geothermal fluids on the shallow aquifer systems. Finally, the integrated analysis of all data allowed to infer both the horizontal and vertical temperature distributions, which are clearly strongly affected by the geological, hydrogeological and tectonic evolution of the eastern sector of the Po Plain, and especially to recognize the area with a highest geothermal potential within the region.