Energy Geology Group
The Energy Geology Group's mission is to develop and execute research projects focused on surface and subsurface geologic resources in and around Arizona's many sedimentary basins.
Collaboration with industry stakeholders, energy companies, and state agencies is a top priority. We also strive to increase public awareness of Arizona’s subsurface geologic resources through the production of user-friendly educational materials.
Group Members
Research Areas
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Conceptual diagram of the CCUS process showing CO2 injection in a deep saline aquifer. Image generated using ChatGPT.
Collectively, CCUS is a set of technologies designed to capture excess atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions trapped from large industrial sources or directly from the air (DAC) and that CO2 is used to produce other materials or stored long-term in geologic formations or biological materials. Viable options for long-term storage must be 1) environmentally safe, 2) cost-effective, and 3) stable long-term. Arizona has two types of geologic carbon storage opportunities: 1) injection of compressed CO2 in deep saline reservoirs and 2) CO2 mineralization in alkaline rocks. CCUS feasibility research in Arizona has been ongoing since the early 2000s, and the storage opportunity gained renewed interest with increased federal investment in the 2020’s.
Conceptual diagram showing geothermal power production from deep, hot dry rock. Image generated using ChatGPT.
Arizona’s regionally thin crust, elevated heat flow, warm and hot springs, thermal wells, and abundant secondary pore space are key indicators of deep geothermal systems capable of supporting long-term energy production. Similar geologic settings in neighboring states also demonstrate strong geothermal resources in Conventional Geothermal Systems (CGS) and Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), reinforcing comparable opportunities in Arizona. Since the late 1970’s, research in geothermally active areas in Arizona has resulted in numerous reports, pilot projects, and datasets.
Conceptual diagram of subsurface gas storage in a salt cavern. Image created with ChatGPT.
Storage of gas and fluids in subsurface salt is achieved by engineering caverns through solution mining. These caverns store fluids and gases such as crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs (propane, butane, etc.) that can be rapidly injected/withdrawn through wells or stored long-term. Salt cavern storage was first developed in thick marine salt bodies of the Gulf Coast region during the mid-1900s and has since expanded into other parts of the country that host evaporites, including Arizona.
Critical resources in Arizona's sedimentary basins. Image created with ChatGPT.
Critical mineral resources such as coal, helium, potash, and lithium are concentrated in sedimentary basins and their distribution is dependent on the basin’s depositional and tectonic history.
Arizona has several coal-fired power plants which rely on regional coal resources, and coal is also essential for steel production. Important Mesozoic-aged coal reserves are located on Navajo and Hopi Tribal lands at Black Mesa and near Holbrook.
Helium is a rare, non-renewable noble gas that is used to operate medical devices such as MRI machines and to control atmospheres and cooling in semiconductor manufacturing and aerospace & defense systems. Helium was commercially produced in AZ from 1961 to 1976, when the resource was thought to be depleted. Today, there is renewed interest in AZ’s helium resources, which may be concentrated and extracted with modern technologies.
Potash, or potassium carbonate, is mined from evaporite deposits and is one of the three essential nutrients in fertilizer. Arizona is not currently a potash-producing state, but potash is known at depth near Holbrook and Petrified Forest National Park. The deposit has been explored intermittently since the 1960s.
Sedimentary lithium is a relatively new lithium resource when compared to traditional crystalline lithium ore rocks such as granite or pegmatite. There are three known volcano-sedimentary lithium deposits located within 20 km of one another in northwestern Arizona near the town of Wikieup. Beginning in the 2010s, exploration drilling at two of these deposits led to established M & I mineral resource assessments – the Big Sandy Formation in Big Sandy Valley and the Basin deposit in Kaiser Spring volcanic field. To date, neither of these resources have been mined.
Conceptual diagram showing groundwater storage. Image created with ChatGPT.
Arizona’s sedimentary basins contain extensive groundwater resources. Shallow groundwater occurs within the upper ~2,000 feet, and many basins provide drinking‑water supplies. With increasing depth, groundwater typically becomes much more saline—often several times saltier than seawater—especially in basins that host thick salt deposits, such as those near Phoenix, Eloy, and Holbrook.