WorldWide Drilling Resource

What Better Way To See Underground? Adapted from Information by British Geological Survey The UK’s top geoscientists have completed drilling of their first 650-foot-deep borehole at the UK Geoenergy Observatory in Glasgow. The observatory will allow the earth science community to see whether warm water within the UK’s disused mine workings can generate a geothermal heat source capable of becoming a sustainable part of the energy mix. The drilling team will create 12 boreholes at depths from 30-650 feet. The same scientists want to create a sister site in Cheshire to achieve an even bigger science ambition. The British Geological Survey (BGS) has submitted a planning application to Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWACC) for a UK Geoenergy Observatory at Ince Marshes in Cheshire, which would make Cheshire home to the best- characterized rock mass in the world, providing a world-class environ- mental baseline on how the whole underground system works. It would enable research around a range of geoscience questions relating to techniques such as storing carbon, utilizing rocks as a battery store for solar, wind and tidal energy, geothermal energy, and shale gas. The BGS would like to drill 50 boreholes at depths from 160-3930 feet. They would contain a network of 1800 seismic sensors and 3 miles of fiber-optic cable transmitting data on earth tremors 1000 times more sensitive than people can feel. Thousands of water samples could be taken over the next 15 years from 160-1310 feet below the surface. Additionally, 5 miles of borehole drilling would generate 9840 feet of rock core to be taken back for laboratory analysis. All data would be available through a publ icly owned websi te, and the observatories will facilitate STEM (sci- ence, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education and engagement programs. Professor Mike Stephenson, chief scientist at the BGS said, “More and more of the solutions to decarbonizing our energy supply will need to come from beneath our feet. Ensuring we take forward these solutions in a sustainable way means understanding more about the system. TheUKGeoenergyObservatory in Cheshire will build up that high-reso- lution picture, providing a breakthrough in our understanding. This would be a world first in being able to observe the underground environment so closely and consistently. What we learn in Cheshire will lead the way in understanding the geological environment.” 36 JUNE 2019 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® It’s time for the South Atlantic JUBILEE at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina! This year, it will be held July 27-29. A full day of sem- inars and presentations is set for Saturday. Sunday has education opportunities until 2:00 p.m., followed by the ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the trade show exhibits of all the products and services needed to complete your water well job. The traditional Worth Pickard Family Picnic will begin at 6:30 p.m. There is a sponsored breakfast on Sunday, then the trade show is back open from 9 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Register at www.jubileewatershow.com Where are you planning to go? How about including these shows: Join WWDR See more events at www.worldwidedrillingresource.com online issue. GEO