Geophysical Prospecting for shallow geothermal fluids in volcanic rock

environments: the case of low enthalpy geothermal potential of Kimolos

Island, Greece 1
Ioannis F. Louis2, Filippos I. Louis2 and Alexia Grambas3
2

Department of Geophysics & Geothermic, University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Ilissia, Athens 15784, Greece.
jlouis@geol.uoa.gr; flouis@geol.uoa.gr
3
Department of Geoinformatics, National Technical University of Athens, Greece. alexia@central.ntua.gr

_____________________________________________________________________________________
Abstract: Resistivity modeling techniques and a case study example were used to detect fractured rock
geothermal aquifers in hardrock volcanic environments. Synthetic modeling investigations indicated that
fractures, covered by overburden and having high vertical penetration and thickness comparable to their
depth of burial, produce considerable responses capable to provide relatively high-resolution resistivity
images. Lower resolution images are obtained, as the thickness of the overburden increases and the
vertical extent of fractures is reduced. Conclusions from synthetic modeling investigations were
confirmed by demonstrating a case study example where field geophysical experiments were conducted in
the context of investigating the low enthalpy geothermal field at Prassa site of Kimolos Island, Aegean
Sea Greece. Favorable areas were located where the intense fracturing of the basement volcanic rocks
has produced extensive or local thickening of overburden material. A production well drilled to a depth of
186m produced 100 m3/h of geothermal water with a well-head temperature of 60 to 650 C providing a
low-cost, renewable energy alternative for the necessary heating medium for the proposed sea-water
desalination unit.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Key Words: 2D Resistivity Imaging, Geophysical Applications in Geothermy

INTRODUCTION
During the summer of 1995, in the context of increasing demands for fresh water supply
for all the countries around the Mediterranean Sea, a shallow electrical resistivity survey
at Prassa geothermal area of Kimolos Island, Aegean Sea, Greece, was undertaken for
the Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CRES). The primary objective of this survey
was to evaluate the low enthalpy geothermal energy potential of Prassa area and to
determine the feasibility of a low-cost renewable energy alternative as the necessary
heating medium for a proposed sea-water desalination unit in the area.
The planning of the resistivity survey called for a flexible approach for both method and
site selection. The types of the structures that the survey was designed to target
included: synthetic lateral and vertical resistivity variations - to asses fractures in the
volcanic basement rock influencing its hydrogeological characteristics and drill-hole
planning; and two-dimensional (or pseudo 3D) structures to assist in locating fault
zones. Fractures in a geologic medium can greatly influence its hydrogeological
characteristics. They can increase the hydraulic conductivity of an otherwise
impermeable rock or soil by orders of magnitude in the dominant fracture directions.
Therefore knowledge of the presence, extent, intensity, and direction of fractures is
desirable for any hydraulic engineering project. In fact, the amount of groundwater
available in fractures is generally limited, at least in arid and semi-arid regions.
Resistivity imaging method can detect vertical and lateral resistivity variations related to
fracture presence and intensity. The purpose of this study is to explore the capabilities
1

Accepted for presentation at the International Conference of Earth Sciences and Electronics (ICESE 2003) to be held in Istanbul (October 2003)

of the dipole-dipole resistivity imaging method in detecting fractures and or fractured

zones buried below an overburden by using synthetic simulation methods, and
demonstrating the results from experiments for low-enthalpy geothermal waters in
volcanic rock environments.
GEOLOGY AND GEOTHERMAL ACTIVITY OF KIMOLOS
The geological environment of Kimolos, simplified from Fytikas and Vugiukalakis
(1993), consists of volcanic rocks most of which are pyroclastic (Fig. 1). The deposits
of two big explosive events, Kastro and Prassa ignimbrites, served as guide levels in the
correlation with Milos volcanic activity. The volcanic activity of the island was
manifested during the Upper Pliocene and Lower Pleistocene. The tectonic regime of
the island is dominated by faults striking N-S and NE-SW but also faulting exists in the
NW-SE and E-W directions. The hot springs of Kimolos are also aligned in a NE-SW
trending direction.

Figure 1. Geological map of Kimolos Island. Rectangle shows the investigated area ( Fytikas and
Vugiukalakis, 1993).

There are several significant surface manifestations of geothermal phenomena in

Kimolos such as hot springs, upwelling hot waters during quarry operations and rich
mineralization created by the hydrothermal alteration or deposition. In at least 4
locations of the NW coast of the island there exist hot springs with significant flow rates
0
0
and temperatures reaching as high as 56 C. Hot springs with temperatures up to 46 C
also exist in the NE coastal area at Prassa. In the same area, during quarrying operations
for the exploitation of a bentonite deposit, up welling of warm water with temperature
0
of 35 C was encountered now charging a small paid. In the vicinity of the same area

exploration drilling found fluids with temperatures of 52 C at 50 m depth. The above

line of evidence indicates the existence of a very significant geothermal anomaly in the
past, which heated up and drove intense circulation of subterranean fluids in a
hydrothermal system. At present it is not absolutely clear whether the high temperature
of this hydrothermal system persists still. There is no supporting evidence that the fluids
discharged from the hot springs of Kimolos originate in or at least mix with fluids from
reservoirs. This however does not exclude the existence of deep high enthalpy
geothermal reservoirs, not communicating with the shallow geothermal manifestations.
In any route there appears to exist some geothermal anomaly in Kimolos most probably
generating intermediate enthalpy reservoirs. The geothermal gradient measurements did
not provide significant results other than a small but observable upward trend. It should
be noted however that the shape of isogradient contours in the neighbouring island of
Milos indicate an increase of the geothermal gradient towards SW Kimolos.
GEOPHYSICAL SETTING
Early reconnaissance type geophysical studies on Kimolos Island included DC
resistivity soundings, ground magnetic and gravity surveys (Tsokas, 1984). A number of
geophysical studies including deep Audio Magneto Telluric investigations (Lagios,
1996); 2D shallow resistivity imaging survey (Louis, 1995) and deep resistivity
investigations (Louis, 1996) as part of a geothermal resources exploration program have
been carried out in recent years to complement earlier investigations. More specifically,
the shallow geophysical investigations aimed at detecting fracture zones in the volcanic
basement rock as favorable sites for drilling production wells to provide geothermal
water as the necessary heating medium for the proposed sea-water desalination unit.
THE EFFECT OF FRACTURES IN THE AQUIFERS DEVELOPMENT
In hardrock areas, the geological structure normally encountered is characterized by the
existence of a hardrock basement overlain by a weathered overburden of variable
thickness. Hydrogeologically, the weathered material, which constitutes the overburden,
has high porosity and contains a significant amount of water, and, at the same time, it
presents low permeability due to its relatively high clay content (Barker, 2001). The
bedrock, on the other hand, is fresh but frequently fractured, presenting high
permeability, but as fractures do not constitute a significant volume of the rock,
fractured basement has a low porosity. For this reason a good borehole, providing long
term high yields, is one, which penetrates a large thickness of weathered overburden,
which acts as a reservoir, and one which additionally intersects fractures in the
underlying bedrock, where the fractures provide the rapid transport mechanism (Louis
et al., 2002a; 2002b). However, once the bedrock is covered by any thickness of
weathering, the fractures are notoriously difficult to find and geophysics provides no
direct solution to the problem.
It can easily be demonstrated that, although fractures of a few centimeters thickness,
which may be very important hydrogeologically, cannot normally be located by
geophysics once they are buried below a few meters of overburden, it is possible to use
geophysics to increase the chances of intersecting fractures while drilling. Resistivity
imaging methods, apart from helping to delineate the maximum thickness of the
weathered overburden, locating in this way the appropriate site for borehole siting, can
also help to define the lateral extent of these aquifers. The important feature is that,
3

where fractures are present, the bedrock is expected to be more strongly weathered to a
greater depth than where it is compact. For this reason, it is best to drill at points where
the bedrock reaches its greater depth, since greater depth ensures a thick reservoir of
water in the overburden. This knowledge has led to the application of combinations of
geophysical methods, normally very low frequency electromagnetic profiling (VLF),
followed by resistivity sounding. Resistivity sounding is attractive as it is one of the
cheapest geophysical techniques to employ and the measurements can normally be
interpreted with low cost manual methods. In last decade, with the advent of high
memory and low cost portable computers, more effective imaging techniques can be
considered.
SYNTHETIC MODELING
Synthetic simulation methods were used in this investigation to model the electrical
response of complex subsurface structures using finite element or finite differences
modeling schemes. Synthetic models represent single fractures and fractured zones in a
volcanic basement rock underlying a conducting overburden. Resistivity values of
30m, 50m and 450m were used to represent three different portions of the models:
50m was chosen to represent the top layer of overburden material, 30m the fractures
in the basement rock and 450m the granite basement rock as it was obtained from the
in situ measurements over outcrops. Software package RES2DMOD was used for this
purpose, which is a version of the original finite difference code of Dey and Morisson
(1966) modified by Loke and Barker (1996).
The single fracture model of Figure 2a would probably produce a very high yield of
water if intersected by a borehole. However, when covered by an overburden it is
impossible to know its exact location, so we are looking for a way to delineate its
presence by its response to a geophysical triggering in the surface of the earth.

Figure 2. Single fracture models used for the synthetic simulation.

The next step was to invert the response and to get an improved resolution image of the
initial model (Fig. 2a). 3% Gaussian noise was added both to background and fracture
body to demonstrate that the inversion scheme is reasonably robust and will work even
in an environment with unsystematic geologic or instrumental noise. The RES2DINV
software was used for this purpose and the resulting inversion was compared with the
original input model (Fig. 2a) but there was no evidence of the fracture since the
magnitude of the measurement errors is greater than the response.
Various synthetic models representing increasing in size single fractures have been
investigated. Details of the method are presented by Barker (2001) and are also
mentioned by Louis (2002a; 2002b). The results have shown that by increasing the size
of the fracture (Fig. 2b) has little effect both in response and inverted resistivity images

until it reaches a size comparable or greater than the depth of its top (Fig. 2c). The case
of Figure 2c is considered to be a model of an extensive fractured zone rather than a
single fracture. The response of the model is now definite and the inverted resistivity
image depicts the fracture zone very clear.
However it is important to mention that as the thickness of the overburden increases and
the vertical extent of the fracture zone is reduced to lower depths (Fig. 3a) the inverted
model losses in resolution (Fig. 3b). In this case the drop in the bedrock, shown in the
bordered area of Figure 3b, produces an increased thickness of the weathered material.
A borehole drilled here it is expected to locate a thicker overburden and it could
intersect some of the fractures.

Figure 3. As the thickness of the overburden increases and the vertical extent of the fracture zone is
reduced (a) the inverted model losses in resolution (b).

The resulting inversions indicated that fractures or fracture zones in the basement rock,
when they are covered by overburden and their thickness is comparable to the depth of
burial, produce an observed response greater than any measurement noise leading in
that way to relatively high-resolution resistivity images. The inverted images revealed
that although the geometries of the resistivity anomalies were sufficiently reconstructed
however their absolute resistivity values were not recovered in an efficient way. In
general, the resistivity values of the target models at the resistivity images were
recovered well enough while the background values were smaller than the actual ones.
Concluding it became clear that geophysics is responding primarily to the increased
thickness of weathered material and not to the fractures themselves. For this reason
geophysical surveys for borehole sitting in basement areas are normally aimed at
locating the positions of thickest overburden.

THE METHOD
The dipole-dipole (D-D) array of electrical resistivity prospecting has several
advantages over other resistivity arrays when used in areas of complex geology. These
advantages include a very high sensitivity to lateral variations of electrical resistivity, a
greater depth of penetration as compared to other popular arrays and, regarding field
work, the shortest cables and least cable moving to achieve comparable depth of
exploration. In the mining industry it is preferred mainly because of its higher
sensitivity to lateral features. For the same reason, it is also very useful in geothermal
exploration when the objective is the delineation of lateral variations of resistivity at
depth. Perhaps the main disadvantage of the D-D array data concerns interpretation.
Qualitative interpretation by inspecting pseudo-section contours is not practical in
complex environments, because shallow resistivity anomalies propagate to larger dipole
separations and mix with the signatures of deeper targets. For the same reason it is not
possible to assemble two-dimensional models by stringing together one-dimensional
interpretations.
To acquire the resistivity data in the field, current is introduced into the ground through
one pair of electrodes (current dipole). A second pair of electrodes (potential dipole) is
then used to quantitatively measure the voltage pattern on the surface resulting from the
current flow pattern of the first set of electrodes. The geometry and plotting scheme for
this array are shown in Fig. 4. All electrodes are placed in a line, a uniform distance
apart. The D-D array is widely used in geothermal, mineral and petroleum exploration
because it is an efficient means of collecting a large number of data points and these
observations are sensitive to the lateral position and depth characteristics of the
resistivity distribution.

Figure 4. Geometry of the dipole-dipole array used for detailed surveys and pseudo-section plotting
convention.

The observational data are presented in a standard pseudo-section format. The apparent
resistivity values are plotted on the horizontal axis at the mid-point of the symmetric
array, and on the vertical axis at the indicated dipole separations (Fig. 5). The plotting of
D-D data in pseudo-section format is intended to represent vertical sections of the earth
below the survey lines. They are useful in the first stage of interpretation to estimate
approximately the anomalous zones. More realistic sections of the earth can be obtained
only after interpretation of the data in terms of true variations of the resistivity
distribution. This is a very important step because it allows the estimation of the true
position and depth of an anomalous region. Moreover, it is possible to estimate the
actual electrical resistivity of the region and relate it to its physical state.
6

A fast numerical approach can then be used to optimize the initial multi-layer model
constructed usually directly from the observed apparent resitivity values. A finite
difference or finite element technique is usually used to calculate the 2-D forward
response of the model. By subsequent iterations, the model is upgraded until a minimum
an acceptable rms misfit between the observed and model pseudosection is achieved.

Figure 5. Observed and calculated apparent resistivity pseudo-sections of traverse L1.

The 2D algorithm considers a 2D-earth model whose resistivity varies along the X-and
Z-axis and doesnt change along Y-axis. Since the current is injected at a point on the
surface, however it flows three dimensionally in the earth. The response in a 2D earth is
given by Poissons equation as:
[ (x, z )V ( x, y, z )] = I ( x, y, z )

(1)

where ( x, z ) is the conductivity, V ( x, y, z ) is the electric potential and I (x, y, z )

represents the source current intensity. By applying the Fourier transform to equation
(1) with respect to the y coordinate, we obtain:

) (

. ( x, z )V (x, k y , z ) + k 2 y ( x, z )V x, k 2 y , z = I x, k 2 y , z

(2)

where means the Fourier transform and k y is the Fourier transform variable. A
detailed explanation of the finite element discretization of equation (2) is given by
Sasaki (1981). Discretization over mesh yields a matrix equation,

KV = S

(3)

where K is a L L spare band matrix with positive symmetric values. This is

determined by the geometry and conductivity of each finite element, L is the number of
nodes, V is a column vector of the unknown potential at each node, and S is the
column vector of current source intensity at each node. The potential V in real 3D
domain can be obtained by solving Eq. 3 and applying inverse Fourier transform,

V ( x,0, z ) = (1 ) V (x, k y , z )dk y

(4)

The apparent resistivity for Dipole-Dipole can be calculated as:

a =

GV
I

(5)

where G is the geometrical factor, and V is the calculated potential difference

between the receiving electrodes, M and N . Here it describes the 2D model, which
holds its block boundaries during the inversion and only the resistivity within each
block changes with the iteration procedure.
DATA ACQUISITION AND PROCESSING TECHNIQUE
Four resistivity traverses were scanned using the dipole-dipole array with a maximum N
separation (ratio of maximum and minimum dipole separation) equal to seven. The
locations and orientations of the resistivity traverses are shown in the location map of
Figure 6. Dipole separations varied in length from 320 to 480m to give an effective
maximum depth of imaging of around 100m.
The data acquisition was accomplished with an ABEM resistivity meter. Electrodes
were 0.5 meter lengths of stainless steel, which were planted to a depth of 0.5 m. Each
electrode was watered to ensure good contact with the ground. Where possible, survey
lines were located along existing paths avoiding physical obstacles like farmhouses and
fences. The minimum electrode spacing was set to 40m. Difficulties in passing through
ownerships prevented extension of the profile lines L1, L3 and L4 further to the south
and north. Current inputs of 2-3 A were achieved for the majority of the current dipole
layouts and resulted good signal strengths.
A smoothness-constrained algorithm was used to reconstruct the apparent resistivity
data (Tsourlos, 1995; Tsourlos et al., 1998). During the 2D model reconstruction
procedure, the subsurface is considered as a set of individual blocks that have intrinsic
resistivity parameters subject to independent adjustment while the size of the blocks
kept constant.
The aim is to calculate a subsurface resistivity estimate x for which the difference dy
between the observed data y and the modeled data F (x) is minimized. Since we are
dealing with a non-linear problem this procedure has to be iterative: In each iteration, an
improved resistivity estimate is sought and eventually the procedure stops until certain
8

convergence criteria are met. An Occams inversion scheme is applied in order to

produce a stable non-linear algorithm for the 2D inversion of earth resistivity data.

Figure 8. Location map

RESISTIVITY IMAGES AND INTERPRETATION

The inversion results are constrained by the quality of the measured data. It is very
important to consider the possible existence of systematic errors in the data such as the
topographic effects. This source of error depends on the site and can be corrected to a
certain degree if shown to be significant. We computed the topographic effect for line
L4, which is the one, among four interpreted lines, most affected by topography.
The observed and computed apparent resistivity pseudo-sections for all the D-D lines
look very much alike, indicating that the models reproduce most of the significant
features of the observed pseudo-sections. An example of satisfactory fitting between
observed and computed apparent resistivity pseudo-sections for profile line L4 is shown
in Figure 5. In some observations the error due to the highly conductive formation
reached 10%, while the average error was below 5%. In any case, in all sections the
main features of interest can be easily observed. The locations of the D-D profile lines

are shown in the location map of Figure 6. The interpreted resistivity images of profile
lines are shown in figures 7, 8, 9 and 10.
D-D profile line L3 was oriented N30oE and centered approximately close to the SE
margin of the nearby pond. This is a profile of 11 sounding stations spaced 40m apart.
The inverted 2D resistivity image for L3 (Fig. 7) indicates a resistive (>200m)
substratum associated, according to geological map of Figure 1, with the granitic
basement rock. The basement rock underlies a conductive overburden increasing in
thickness northwards. The conductive overburden is inferred to be associated with
intense hydrothermal alteration.

Figure 7. Inverted resistivity image of profile L3

Synthetic simulation results indicate that the local thickening of the conductive
overburden, observed close to the north end of the profile, may be well explained by a
fault in the basement rock which has produced an extensive fracture zone and a local
drop in it. The presence in the same area of a hot spring (HS in Figs. 8 and 12) with
temperatures up to 46oC and a borehole (BH in Figs. 8 and 12) drilled fluids of 52oC at
50m depth evidence this explanation. This fault is probably the continuation of fault F1
(Fig. 8) known from geologic mapping. The resistivity image of Figure 7 contributes to
a geologic model in which geothermal fluids rise vertically along the fault and fractures
within the low resistivity zone, then move laterally through permeable zones in the
subsurface creating linear patches of hydrothermal alteration.
D-D profile line L1 trends roughly north centred approximately close to the NW margin
of the nearby pond. This is a profile of 10 sounding stations spaced 50m apart. The
inverted resistivity image of profile L1 (Fig. 8) indicates a resistive (>200m)
substratum associated, according to geological map of Figure 1, with the granitic
basement rock. The basement rock underlies a conductive overburden which is inferred
to be associated with intense hydrothermal alteration. Local thickenings of the
conductive overburden are observed close to the north and south ends of the profile line.
Synthetic simulation results, in correlation with the interpretation given for profile line
L3 supported with drilling results and the implication of hot spring, can also well
explain for profile L1 the local thickenings observed in the conductive overburden.

10

Figure 8. Inverted resistivity image of profile L1

Thus, similarly for L1, the observed local thickenings may be well explained by the
existence of respective faults in the basement rock which have produced extensive
fracture zones followed by local drops in the bedrock. The interpreted faults close to the
north and south ends of profile L1 identify with the known faults F1 and F2 (Fig. 8),
which cross the profile line just in these locations.
D-D profile L4 was oriented N30oE, parallel in line L3, and centered approximately
150m west of the NW margin of the nearby pond. This is a profile of 8 sounding
stations spaced 60m apart. It is the one among the four interpreted profiles most affected
by the topography. The pattern of resistivity distribution in the inverted resistivity image
for profile L4 (Fig. 9) is similar to that of profile L1.

Figure 9. Inverted resistivity image of profile L4

Thus, we can observe here the resistive (>200 m) granitic basement rock which
underlies a conductive overburden. The low resistivity overburden is inferred to be
associated with intense hydrothermal alteration. Similarly here, two local thickenings of
the conductive overburden are observed close to the north and south ends of the profile
line explained by the existence of respective faults in the basement rock which have

11

produced extensive fracture zones followed by local drops in it. Similarly, the
interpreted faults close to the north and south ends of profile L4 identify with the known
faults F1 and F2, which cross the profile line just in these locations.
D-D profile line L2 trends EW following the existing streambed. This is a profile of 11
sounding stations spaced 40m apart. The inverted resistivity image for profile L2 (Fig.
10) indicates a resistive (>200m) substratum attributed to the granitic basement rocks.
The bedrock underlies an eastwards thickening conductive overburden, which is
inferred to be associated with intense hydrothermal alteration.

Figure 10. Inverted resistivity image of profile L2

A local thickening of the conductive overburden observed between distances 225 and
250m, is probably associated with fault F2 (Fig. 8) in the basement rock, which has
produced an extensive fracture zone followed by a local drop in the bedrock.
ANALYSIS OF THE RESISTIVITY IMAGES AND DISCUSSION
The most likely causes of low resistivity anomalies in a volcanic environment are:
intense hydrothermal clay alteration, mineralised fluids moving vertically along faults
and laterally through permeable zones, and high temperatures. 2D resistivity distribution
maps of Figure 11 and the pseudo-3D resistivity model of Figure 12 present a summary
of the resistivity survey results and reveal a significant low resistivity anomaly (<8
m), extending from ground surface to more than 80 meters depth. It forms an N30oE
trending zone about 400m by 150m in area, at 30m depth (Fig. 11a), reducing to about
400m by 100m in area at 80 meters depth (Fig. 11b).
The zone is respectively bounded from north and south by two NW and EW trending
corridors of low resistivity about 200m by 30m in area (Fig. 12). The conductive
corridors are generally bounded by resistivities greater than 100 m. The conductive
corridors manifest the traces of faults F1 and F4. They identify faults F1 and F4 (Fig. 8)
known from geologic mapping.
The occurrence of the hot spring close to the north end of the zone and the drilling
results of the borehole in the same area support the aspect that the low resistivity zone is
attributed to the migration of geothermal fluids mixed with seawaters in the permeable
subsurface.

12

(a)

(b)

Figure 11. Maps of true resistivity distribution at depths 30m (a) and 80m (b).

Figure 12. Pseudo-3D resistivity model.

13

More specifically, the resistivity survey results, supported by surface geological features
such as the presence of nearby hydrothermal manifestations (hot spring, fumaroles etc.)
and correlated with information available from drilling, contribute to a geologic model
in which geothermal fluids rise vertically along faults F1 and F4, then move laterally
through permeable zones in the subsurface to mix with seawater.
According to the 2D interpretation of these data set the two trending corridors,
appearing in Figures 11 and 12, were recommended as promising areas for exploitation,
especially the area around fault F1 and hot spring HS. A production well drilled in this
area to a depth of 186m produced 100 m3/h of geothermal water with a well-head
temperature of 60 to 650 C providing a low-cost renewable energy alternative as the
necessary heating medium for the proposed sea-water desalination unit.
2D cross sections elucidated and gave explanation for the origin of the hot water at hot
spring. The resistivity data and their interpretation are probably not adequate to specify
the position of deep controlling structures and limited drilling indicates that the
geothermal reservoir is probably too deep to directly influence the resistivity readings at
this environment.
CONCLUSIONS
The dipole-dipole resistivity imaging method, when used for the exploration of
geothermal waters in volcanic rock environments can provide very useful information.
Synthetic simulation investigations and case study examples were used to explore the
capabilities of the method to detect fractures and or fractured zones, regarded as
aquifers, in volcanic rocks. Synthetic simulation indicated that fracture zones of high
vertical penetration in the volcanic basement, when covered by overburden and their
width is comparable to their depth of burial, produce responses greater than any
measurement noise leading in that way to relatively high-resolution resistivity imaging
of fractures. However, as the thickness of the overburden increases and the vertical
extent of fractures are reduced, the inverted resistivity images loss in resolution creating
in that way local thickening of the overburden as unfeigned attestation of their
existence.
Synthetic outcomes were confirmed by demonstrating a case study example where field
geophysical experiments were conducted in the context of investigating the low
enthalpy geothermal conditions of Kimolos Island Greece. Favorable areas were located
where the intense fracturing of the volcanic basement rocks has produced extensive or
local thickening of overburden material. Concluding we can say that in shallow depths
the thermal fluids of the area are channelled upward principally along faults. There is
not yet supporting evidence that the shallow conductive zones are in communication
with deeper conductive fluids from high enthalpy reservoirs.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We wish to thank the Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CRES) for funding the
research leaded to this article, and the Special Account for Research Grants of the
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens for granting part of this research. Many
thanks are also expressed to the students of the Department of Geophysics, University
of Athens, who helped acquire the geophysical data.

14

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