{"id":5366,"date":"2015-07-27T10:38:16","date_gmt":"2015-07-27T10:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revoscience.com\/en\/?p=5366"},"modified":"2015-07-27T10:38:16","modified_gmt":"2015-07-27T10:38:16","slug":"searching-for-underground-energy-sources-from-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/searching-for-underground-energy-sources-from-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Searching for underground energy sources from space"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Pinpointing<\/a>
Pinpointing hyrodcarbon maturity<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Data from ESA\u2019s GOCE gravity satellite are being used to improve models of Earth\u2019s geology, indicating the potential locations of subsurface energy sources.<\/span><\/p>\n

The satellite known as the \u2018Ferrari of space\u2019 has measured Earth\u2019s gravity with unrivalled precision, thanks to its extraordinarily low orbit about 255 km high \u2013 about 500 km lower than most Earth observation satellites.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of 2012, low fuel consumption allowed operators to extend the mission\u2019s life and start to lower the satellite a further 31 km for even more accurate measurements. This was at the very limit of its capability but maximised the return for science.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although GOCE\u2019s mission ended in October 2013, the gravity data from this super-low orbit has improved our understanding of Earth\u2019s interior, including identifying areas where oil and gas \u2013 the primary energy source for today\u2019s civilisations \u2013 might be present.<\/span><\/p>\n

3D models of Earth\u2019s underground are traditionally based on information acquired on the ground. Gravity data from the GOCE satellite, however, provide homogeneous coverage in high resolution, which is being used to improve and validate models based on traditional datasets.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Models based on GOCE data show subsurface density and its vertical and lateral variability, which provides insight into varying geological compositions and temperatures. Estimating the structure and thermal state of Earth\u2019s crust provides clues into the heat of shallower sedimentary rocks, and thus the potential location of oil and gas accumulations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Subsurface areas with temperatures ranging over 60\u2013200\u00baC indicate the maturity of the rock and, therefore, the likelihood of the presence of oil and gas.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"GOCE\"<\/a>
GOCE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cUsing GOCE data for improving our understanding of Earth\u2019s composition is still in an early phase, and more local geophysical surveys need to be conducted to validate the models,\u201d said J\u00f6rg Ebbing from Germany\u2019s University of Kiel and one of the experts in the GOCE+ Geoexplore project, which carried out the study.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another expert working on the study, Rader Abdul Fattah from the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), continued: \u201cThese early results already show how spaceborne technologies can be used to improve our understanding of the various geological properties of deeply buried sediments \u2013 from 5 km to 10 km deep \u2013 and therefore identify\u00a0the potential of untapped subsurface energy resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is especially useful for remote areas that are difficult, expensive and time-consuming to explore.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

While neither oil or gas reservoirs can be found directly with GOCE, the analysis can guide researchers in identifying areas where the geological conditions appear promising for further ground exploration.<\/span><\/p>\n

GOCE\u2019s mission ended in October 2013 when it ran out of fuel and subsequently reentered Earth\u2019s atmosphere. But its wealth of data continues to be exploited to improve our understanding of Earth\u2019s interior, as well as ocean circulation, sea level and ice dynamics.<\/span><\/p>\n

The GOCE+ Geoexplore project is funded by ESA\u2019s Support To Science Element.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Data from ESA\u2019s GOCE gravity satellite are being used to improve models of Earth\u2019s geology, indicating the potential locations of subsurface energy sources. The satellite known as the \u2018Ferrari of space\u2019 has measured Earth\u2019s gravity with unrivalled precision, thanks to its extraordinarily low orbit about 255 km high \u2013 about 500 km lower than most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-space-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium.jpg",305,173,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium-300x170.jpg",300,170,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium.jpg",305,173,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium.jpg",305,173,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium.jpg",305,173,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium.jpg",305,173,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium.jpg",305,173,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium.jpg",305,173,false],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium.jpg",305,173,false],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium.jpg",305,173,false],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium.jpg",305,173,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium.jpg",305,173,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium.jpg",95,54,false],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium.jpg",305,173,false],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium.jpg",96,54,false],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Pinpointing_hyrodcarbon_maturity_medium.jpg",150,85,false]},"author_info":{"info":["Amrita Tuladhar"]},"category_info":"Space\/ AstroPhysics<\/a>","tag_info":"Space\/ AstroPhysics","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}