Geoscience

Hot spring rocks

One area of speciality within the Geothermal Institute is the characterisation of siliceous sinter hot spring rocks. Sinters are a surface expression of discharging alkali chloride thermal water, the fluid type we use in our geothermal power plants. Often sinters are the only surface expression of a geothermal reservoir at depth. Recognition of sinters, identification of their overprints and mapping paleo-flow conditions based on sinter architecture is a valuable exploration tool. 

Hydrothermal alteration

Significant insights about subsurface processes, and how they change with time, can be gained from unravelling the history of hydrothermal alteration recorded in geothermal host rocks. At the Geothermal Institute we are constantly extending our ability to examine fine-scale hydrothermal alteration detail captured in cores and cuttings. We specialise in Scanning Electron Microscopy, complemented by Computerised Tomography (CT) scans.