Renewable Geoenergy Systems: Subsurface Energy Sources and Storage for a Sustainable Low-Carbon Future

A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 525

Special Issue Editors

Department of Geological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
Interests: volcanology; seismic; stratigraphy; sedimentary basins; geoenergy
Department Applied Geosciences and Geophysics, University of Leoben, Leoben, Austria
Interests: stratigraphy; sedimentary basins
Energy Geoscience, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
Interests: volcanology; sedimentary basins; geoenergy
StructureSolver LLC, Glastonbury, CT, USA
Interests: geological mapping; tectonics; structural geology; exploration geology; petroleum geology; geochronology; plate tectonics; field geology; geology; kinematics
Engineering Geology and Geoenergy, Geological Survey of Finland (GTK), Espoo, Finland
Interests: geoenergy; geothermics; BTES modelling; thermal response tests (TRT); geothermal measurements; distributed temperature system (DTS); BTES monitoring

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Energy geoscience is undergoing a transition from hydrocarbon exploration and development to the larger arena of geoenergy. Broadly defined, geoenergy comprises energy resources derived from or stored in rock formations, and subsurface technologies designed to dispose of harmful waste from energy production.

Novel methods of geothermal exploration and technologies that interact with subsurface geology, such as underground hydrogen storage, compressed air energy storage, renewable natural gas, and containment of nuclear waste and CO2 in rock reservoirs, will play a critical role in decarbonizing our energy system and economy. These new geoenergy technologies will also require unique social, legal, and regulatory standards to attain acceptable safety and implementation guidelines.

Much of the science and technology initially developed for hydrocarbon exploration and production can be repurposed to increase uptake of renewable geoenergy systems. The fields of geology, geophysics, and petrophysics have unique scientific strengths in describing the Earth’s subsurface complexity and its associated opportunities, particularly by quantifying and understanding the factors that determine the behavior of fluids in transporting and storing mass and heat within rock formations.

The objective of this volume is to (1) highlight the unique subsurface opportunities provided by geologic, geophysical, and petrophysical methods concerning renewable geoenergy exploration and production, (2) demonstrate how geoenergy systems can accelerate the development of low-carbon energy technologies and integrate hybrid energy enterprises, (3) provide a high-level review of the issues and technology of new geoenergy systems, and (4) cross-pollinate insights applicable to diverse subdisciplines of geoenergy exploration and production.

We invite geoscientists, engineers, social scientists, and policy specialists to contribute original research papers, review articles, and technical notes on the topics of:

  • High and low enthalpy geothermal systems;
  • Underground geological storage of hydrogen and other gas mixtures in anthropic rock caves and porous-media reservoirs;
  • Bio-geo methanation and generation of renewable natural gas;
  • Diabatic and adiabatic compressed air energy storage (CAES) in rock formations;
  • Subsurface CO2 sequestration and permanent mineralization;
  • Disposal and storage of radioactive waste in rock reservoirs;
  • Geophysical methods of geoenergy prospects assessment;
  • Rock properties of porous-media reservoirs and associated seals/caprocks;
  • Physical, chemical, mechanical and biological changes induced by underground geostorage;
  • Numerical modeling and quantification of geoenergy resources;
  • Societal and regulatory considerations for the use of the subsurface in geoenergy applications;
  • Responsible use of shared subsurface resources.

Please send us a provisional article title including the author’s name and a short description (100 words max) by the 1st of October. The deadline for full article submission is the 30th of April 2022. Each article will be published online (open access) as soon as a successful peer-review process is completed. When all articles have been accepted, they will be grouped as a Special Issue.

Dr. Alan Bischoff
Dr. Joel Bensing
Dr. John Midgley
Dr. Nathan Eichelberger
Dr. Nina Leppäharju
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Geosciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers

There is no accepted submissions to this special issue at this moment.
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