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Show U of U to locate geothermal energy analysis, microearthquake and seismic noise monitoring, heat flow measurement, resistivity-induced resistivity-induced polarization surveying and gravity surveying. As a rule, geothermal power is obtained by releasing hot water or steam locked in the earth's interior in-terior through drill holes, then channeling it through pipes to a turbine generator unit. Present technology on geothermal resources, the natural heat of the earth, is "young and untested by long experience of success and failure," the U professor added. As part of the project, the Department of Geology and Geophysics will maintain an "open file office" in the Mineral Science Building so that industry and other interested parties can The National Science Foundation Foun-dation has awarded a major research grant to University of Utah scientists to develop optimum op-timum systems for locating the state's geothermal energy or "clean power." Dr. Stanley H. Ward, chairman of the Department of Geology and Geophysics, will direct the federally-funded project--the most extensive of its kind ever conducted in Utah. The $196,400 grant marks the first substantial undertaking in the diversified five-year energy plan recently unveiled by the University's College of Engineering and College of Mines in a bid to help the nation achieve self sufficiency by 1980. Although the grant is scheduled for expiration April 30, 1975, Dr. Ward anticipates the important research, whose results will have national application, "will develop into a project lasting several years." "Our primary aim," Dr. Ward explained, "is to make a major contribution to the science and technology of detection, delineation, and economic evaluation of geothermal resources." The exploration systems will be utilized in Utah in areas of known hot springs and late Tertiary or Quaternary volcanic activity. The work will include photo interpretation, geologic mapping, structural analysis, petrologic study, geochemical keep abreast of research findings. fin-dings. The research team includes Professors W. P. Nash, William T. Parry, William R. Sill, Robert B. Smith and J. A. Whelan, all of the Department of Geology and Geophysics. In addition, Dr. David D. Blackwell of Southern Methodist University will serve as a heat flow consultant to the team. The U scientists, in their proposal for federal funds, warned that geothermal exploration ex-ploration would remain on "unfirm ground" until effective exploration systems are designed and tested. "The paucity of research and information on geothermal resources in the crust, the lack of guides for exploration and the shortage of trained specialists and technicians have combined in the past to retard progress," the proposal stated. Five areas tentatively have been selected for thorough study by the researchers, with high priority given to Roosevelt Hot Springs about 12 miles northeast of Milford in Beaver County. Most of the sites, Dr. Ward said, are characterized by hot springs which may be a large distance from the source reservoir. Most geothermal areas explored to date possess plumbing systems which allow the hot fluids to leak to the surface sur-face as "geothermal seeps" or hot springs. Other locations to be investigated in-vestigated include Abraham Hot Springs about 18 miles northwest of Delta in Juab County; Thermo Hot Springs southwest of Milford; Cedar Valley, east of Cedar City in Iron County; the Marysville-Richfield area in Sevier County; and the East Tintic District in Juab County. For further information, contact Jim Bapis, (801) 581-6773. You can plan your life and your actions without regard to what others think or do, but you can't live to yourself, your-self, whether you want to or not. |