Seismic characterisation and monitoring of urban geothermal reservoir

Geothermal energy provides an attractive solution for decarbonising heating and cooling

systems in the urban environment. Many urban centres are underlain by potential geothermal

reservoirs, which offer storage and extraction options for excess heat and provide significant

reductions in carbon demand. Despite this potential, the UK has been slow to explore

geothermal heating solutions, in part owing to i) lack of knowledge about the geological and

hydrological complexities of a geothermal reservoir, ii) stakeholder concerns about the long-term

sustainability, and thus cost-effectiveness, of a geothermal heating system. Therefore, any

potential geothermal reservoir requires extensive characterisation prior to development, and

monitoring during usage to ensure sustainable management.

Here, geophysical methods can be particularly powerful and in this PhD project, you will explore the use of seismic methods for

geothermal applications. Building on your existing experience with seismic methods (including

acquisition, processing and modelling), you will be free to explore any seismic technology that

you feel would be beneficial for characterising and monitoring a geothermal reservoir and

heating system. Such technologies may include, but are not limited to: controlled-source or

ambient noise characterisations of reservoir structure; borehole seismology and the relation to

well-logs and cores; and distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) and the development of fibre-optic

seismology. You may also wish to innovate in data processing and analysis technologies, for

example to seismic velocity model building via waveform inversion or ambient noise

tomography. Whichever discipline of seismology interests you, the supervision team in this

project has the expertise to guide you through your research programme. We uniquely maintain

many of the geophysical tools that you will need to undertake this research, including cutting-

edge SmartSolo seismic nodes and a Febus Optics DAS system.

Through research connections at the University of Leeds, you will be able to apply your developing expertise at a

number of experimental geothermal sites. Of particular interest will be the University of Leeds’

own “Geothermal Campus”, a research facility established to explore the decarbonisation of the

heating/cooling systems of the university. The facility comprises 7 instrumented boreholes,

variously compatible with thermal testing, water circulation and geophysical monitoring. In

using this facility, you will join a growing group of researchers operating within the Leeds

Geosolutions Centre. The supervision team also includes investigators on the UK government-

funded SmartRes project, which explores barriers to the uptake of urban geothermal systems.

Through this project, you can access archive data and perform new acquisitions at sites

including the British Geological Survey’s UKGEOS Cheshire observatory. Furthermore, we have

emerging connections with the Gateshead Coal Authority, which aims to repurpose relict mine

workings for heating operations. As a PhD student in the YES Doctoral Training Network, you

will benefit from a supportive training environment that offers diverse schemes to boost your

skills beyond technical geophysical expertise. Such schemes may include academic writing to

help you prepare the submission of research articles, and presentation skills to give you

confidence in disseminating your work to an international conference audience.

During your studies, you will be based in the Institute of Applied Geoscience (IAG) of Leeds’ School of Earth

and Environment. With an active PhD research community, you will find a vibrant network of

peer support. Furthermore, in working with the Geosolutions Centre, you will interface with

researchers not only developing technical solutions to energy transition problems, but on

developing the policy solutions to implement technology for societal benefit