Towards a multiscale geophysical approach for the evaluation of the geothermal energy potential of the Eastern Po Plain (Italy)

To contribute to a secure and low energy carbon future, the InGEO project (Innovation in GEOthermal resources and reserves potential assessment for the decarbonization of power/thermal sectors) seeks to develop an innovative exploration workflow for combining muti-parameter datasets that will help reduce the risks associated with geothermal energy exploitation. The chosen area for the application is the Northern Apennine buried - structures belonging to the Romagna and Ferrara Folds (RFF), Eastern Po Plain (Italy). There, a mapped thermal anomaly was interpreted to be the effect of deep fluids circulation within the deep-seated Mesozoic carbonate sequences (e.g., Pasquale et al., 2013). As part of the workflow, we first developed a consistent geological/geophysical model of the RFF region. The model integrated data from over 200 seismic surveys from the VIDEPI database (www.videpi.com), 700 deep (>1500 m) boreholes (CNR database, www.geothopica.igg.cnr.it), 160 sonic and lithological logs (Livani et al. 2023), recent seismic tomography models (e.g., Brazus et al. 2025; Kästle et al., 2025), and new density models, obtained from the inversion of the the first pan-Alpine surface-gravity database (Zahorec et al., 2021). The Kingdom Suite was used to interpret the 2D seismic lines and well log data, while clustering algorithms (K-means and Fuzzy c-means) were chosen to classify the seismic tomography and density dataset. The results consist of a 3D architecture of shallow and deep geological features of the study region. Shallow features (up to a depth of ~15 km) included eight horizons, ranging in age from the Quaternary to the Permian. Deep features (between ~15 and 50 km depth) included the basement, the upper crust and the Moho depths. The geological/geophysical model was further validated by utilizing thermo-physical measurements on rocks, also obtained as part of the InGEO project (Sulpski, 2025), high temperature and pressure laboratory data on rocks, complied from the literature (Burke and Fountain, 1990; Christensen and Mooney, 1995), and sonic log data, obtained from oil and gas wells, drilled in the RFF region (Livani et al. 2023). Furthermore, a comparison with the temperature data on wells provided a preliminary evaluation of the resource potential of the RFF region. The workflow will further entail a more rigorous assessment of the geothermal energy potential of the region, by implementing a numerical simulation, which uses as main input the consistent geological/geophysical model. The workflow of InGEO project will be also used as a decision support system for developing future geothermal projects in Italy.

Acknowledgments

InGEO is a PRIN 2022 PNRR Project and has received funding from the European Union, Next Generation EU.

References

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