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WITHDRAWN Ambient Noise Tomography for Natural Hydrogen Exploration: A Case Study From the Gawler Craton, South Australia

Description: 

WITHDRAWN Natural hydrogen, also known as geologic or gold hydrogen, is rapidly gaining attention as a potentially inexpensive, clean, and renewable energy source for the future. However, standardized methods for exploring natural hydrogen are still lacking. Traditional exploration techniques used in sedimentary basins do not directly apply to natural hydrogen detection, which is often associated with non-sedimentary cratonic settings.

This study focuses on a 2,500 km2 area within the natural hydrogen exploration license (PEL 691) held by H2EX Ltd., located in the eastern Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. In 2024, two separate nodal arrays, each operating for one month, were deployed in this region, which overlies the Gawler Craton. A regional passive-seismic survey with 150 sensors achieved an average station spacing of 3-4 km, followed by an infill survey with 100 sensors targeting fault zones, that refined inter-station spacing to 1-1.5 km in these critical areas. An adaptive irregular grid tomography method based on the Poisson-Voronoi approach was developed to integrate these datasets. This technique enables multi-scale structural resolution while maintaining coverage in sparsely sampled areas, as confirmed through comprehensive tests. The resulting velocity model provides detailed structural insights from the surface down to a depth of 15 km, revealing features related to major fault zones, crystalline basement architectures, and sedimentary basins. These structures will be evaluated for their potential roles as migration pathways and storage sites for natural hydrogen. Our findings will advance exploration methods for natural hydrogen in complex geological settings.

Session: Seismology for the Energy Transition [Poster]

Type: Poster

Date: 4/16/2025

Presentation Time: 08:00 AM (local time)

Presenting Author: Shixian

Student Presenter: Yes

Invited Presentation: 

Poster Number: 127

Authors