Travis L McLing

• PhD Student at University of Idaho

Hydraulic fracturing is a widely used reservoir stimulation technique for improving fluid circulation in rock formations with extremely low permeability, particularly in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). To better understand the complex processes involved and improve hydraulic stimulation performance, we have developed ELK (ELectrical fracKing), a...

Thermal energy storage at large scale has significant potential for large scale clean energy deployment. However, it is necessary to understand and address the challenges (Dobson et al., 2023) associated with high temperature reservoir thermal energy storage (HT-RTES). Lessons learned from the previous demonstrations identify insufficient site char...

Depleted oil/gas reservoirs represent a waste of underground resource ad investments of drilling, and also a potential risk to the earth's environment. Geologic thermal energy storage (GeoTES) is proposed as a solution to convert depleted oil/gas reservoirs into long-term seasonal energy storage. GeoTES can be hybridized with other techniques for v...

One of the critical challenges of the green energy transition is resolving the mismatch between energy generation provided by intermittent renewable energy sources such as solar and wind and the demand for energy. There is a need for large amounts of energy storage over a range of time scales (diurnal to seasonal) to better balance energy supply an...

Keywords: RELAP5-3D, FALCON, hot-dry rock, closed loop ABS TRACT In the framework of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) "Geothermal Closed Loop" project, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has developed a new software suite for the analysis of geothermal systems. The software suite is based on two INL codes, RELAP5-3D and FALCON, coupled via a dedica...

High-temperature reservoir thermal energy storage (HT-RTES) has the potential to become an indispensable component in achieving the goal of the net-zero carbon economy, given its capability to balance the intermittent nature of renewable energy generation. In this study, a machine-learning-assisted computational framework is presented to identify H...

Reservoir thermal energy storage (RTES) is a promising technology to balance the mismatch between energy supply and demand. In particular, high temperature (HT) RTES can stabilize the grid with increasing penetration of renewable energy generation. This paper presents the investigation of the mechanical deformation and chemical reaction influences...

Reservoir thermal energy storage (RTES) is a promising technology to balance the mismatch between energy supply and demand. In particular, high temperature (HT) RTES can stabilize the grid with increasing penetration of renewable energy generation. This paper presents the investigation of the mechanical deformation and chemical reaction influences...

This work applies emergent self-organizing map (ESOM) techniques, a form of machine learning, in the multidimensional interpretation and prediction of rare earth element (REE) abundance in produced and geothermal waters in the United States. Visualization of the variables in the ESOM trained using the input data shows that each REE, with the except...

Domestic Rare Earth Element sources and production are limited in the United States and currently rely on final processing overseas. Increasing demand and resource security domestically has led to significant investigation into rare earth element domestic resources. Much of this work focuses on unconventional potential ore stocks, including coal an...

With expanding capacity of electricity generation from variable renewable energy sources, there is an urgency to increase the capacity of grid-scale energy storage. Large-scale energy storage is deemed necessary to help grid stability and achieve U.S. goals of a net zero carbon economy. One of the grid-scale energy storage technologies that is curr...

High-temperature geothermal battery storage is a concept for stabilizing the grid due to increasing intermittent renewable resources. Questions on the potential site's feasibility and the optimal operation design of the geothermal battery are addressed in this paper by coupling stochastic hydro-thermal simulations and neural network development. A...

The potential for mineral scaling in high-temperature aquifer thermal energy storage (HT-ATES) systems was investigated by geochemical and thermal-hydrological-chemical (reactive transport) simulations. Geochemical modeling was performed with brines from the Green River Basin (Weber Sandstone), the Illinois Basin (St. Peter and Mt. Simon Sandstones...

This paper presents the numerical investigation of the geological thermal energy storage (GeoTES) by considering well configuration, discrete fracture network (DFN), and mechanical effect. After validated against field experiments, the MOOSE framework was used to simulate the GeoTES with geological properties from the Weber/Tensleep formation. Mono...

Large‐scale global adoption of carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a means of minimizing atmospheric CO2 emissions requires an unprecedented effort to store gigatons of anthropogenic emissions in the earth's subsurface. Critical to the adoption and ultimate success of CCS is the protection of valuable water resources that may be impacted by leaking...

Experiment 2 of the EGS Collab project is aimed at testing stimulation by hydro-shearing of existing natural fractures, versus Experiment 1, which is focused on hydraulic fracturing a rock mass to enhance permeability. The main criterion for the testbed selection in Experiment 2 is the presence of an interconnected network of fractures, at least 10...

Tracer tests are standard methods for characterizing flow paths along connected high-permeability zones in the subsurface. In this study, we propose a fast and simple method to analyze tracer tests from the DOE's EGS Collab project, and feed the characterized flow paths back into thermal breakthrough predictions. In this project, two phases of cont...

Although many Known Geothermal Resource Areas in Oregon and Idaho were identified during the 1970s and 1980s, few were subsequently developed commercially. Because of advances in power plant design and energy conversion efficiency since the 1980s, some previously identified KGRAs may now be economically viable prospects. Unfortunately, available ch...

The objective of the EGS Collab project is to establish a suite of intermediate-scale (~10-20 m) field test beds coupled with stimulation and interwell flow tests to provide a basis to better understand fracture stimulation methods, resulting fracture geometries, and processes that control heat transfer between rock and stimulated fractures. Experi...

Core Ideas Locating preferential pathways for infiltration is critical for contaminated fractured rock aquifers. Mapping open fractures in buried bedrock formations has been marginally successful and costly. Mapping at greater resolution and lower cost can be valuable for many fractured‐rock sites. We used CR‐39 particle track ²²² Rn detector techn...

The Camas Prairie in Blaine, Camas, and Elmore Counties, Idaho has long been identified as an area with geothermal potential, and is one of several promising geothermal prospects that were identified by play fairway analysis of the Snake River Plain region. The geothermal activity in the area is manifested by the presence of several hot springs. Mo...

This study is part of a joint effort by the University of Wyoming (UW) School of Energy Resources (SER), the UW Engineering Department, Idaho National Laboratories (INL), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to describe rare earth element concentrations in oil and gas produced waters and in coal-fired power station ash ponds. In this work...

The Eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) in southern Idaho is a region of high heat flow. Sustained volcanic activity in the wake of the passage of the Yellowstone Hotspot through the area created a region with great potential for geothermal resources. Numerous hot springs with temperatures up to 75 ºC are scattered along the margins of the plain. Simi...

A map of groundwater temperatures from the Eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) regional aquifer can be used to identify and interpret important features of the aquifer, including aquifer flow direction, aquifer thickness, and potential geothermal anomalies. The ESRP is an area of high heat flow, yet most of this thermal energy fails to reach the surfa...

The Eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) in southern Idaho is a region of high heat flow. Sustained volcanic activities in the wake of the passage of the Yellowstone Hotspot have turned this region into an area with great potential for geothermal resources as evidenced by numerous hot springs scattered along the margins of the plain and several hot-wat...

The Newdale geothermal area in Madison and Fremont Counties in Idaho is a known geothermal resource area whose thermal anomaly is expressed by high thermal gradients and numerous wells producing hot water (up to 51 °C). Geologically, the Newdale geothermal area is located within the Eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) that has a time-transgressive his...

Southern Idaho is an area of high heat flow with significant potential geothermal resources. However, shallow cold groundwater effectively masks thermal signatures of deep-seated geothermal systems in the area. In order to attempt to see through the shallow groundwater, we are applying a combination of geochemical and isotopic tools relying on diss...

Southeastern Idaho exhibits numerous warm springs, warm water from shallow wells, and hot water from oil and gas test wells that indicate a potential for geothermal development in the area. We have estimated reservoir temperatures from chemical composition of thermal waters in southeastern Idaho using an inverse geochemical modeling technique (Rese...

Conventional geothermal resource prospecting often begins with geochemical analysis of geothermal fluids sampled from surface expressions (hot springs and fumaroles). Similarly, water samples from hot wells located near the surface expressions are also routinely collected and analyzed as a part of regional exploration efforts. The chemical composit...

Southeastern Idaho exhibits numerous warm springs, warm water from shallow wells, and hot water from oil and gas test wells that indicate a potential for geothermal development in the area. Although the area exhibits several thermal expressions, the measured geothermal gradients vary substantially (19 – 61 ºC/km) within this area. We have estimated...

The Preston Geothermal prospect is located in northern Cache Valley approximately 8 kilometers north of the city of Preston, in southeast Idaho. The Cache Valley is a structural graben of the northern portion of the Basin and Range Province, just south of the border with the Eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP). This is a known geothermal resource area...

A major barrier to the deployment of geothermal energy is the financial risk associated with geothermal prospecting. One means to reduce such financial risk is to improve the accuracy of geothermometry by taking advantage of recent advances in geochemical analyses and modeling. Geothermometry is an important tool for estimating deep reservoir tempe...

In this paper we report the result of research associated with the testing of a procedures necessary for utilizing natural occurring trace elements, specifically the Rare Earth Elements (REE) as geochemical tracers in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) applications. Trace elements, particularly REE may be well suited to serve as in situ tracers for m...

Dr David Blackwell has had a profound influence on geothermal exploration and R&D in Idaho. Forty years have elapsed since the first Southern Methodist University (SMU) temperature logging truck rolled onto the high desert in Southern Idaho, yet even after so much time has elapsed, most recent and ongoing geothermal R&D can trace its roots to the f...

Multicomponent geothermometry requires knowledge of the mineral phases in the reservoir with which the geothermal fluids may be equilibrated. These minerals phases are most often alteration products rather than primary minerals. We have reviewed the literature on geothermal systems representing most major geologic environments typically associated...

The Eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) is an area of high regional heat flux due the movement of the North American Plate over the Yellowstone Hotspot beginning ca.16 Ma. Temperature gradients between 45-60 ˚C/km (up to double the global average) have been calculated from deep wells that penetrate the upper aquifer system (Blackwell 1989). Despite th...

Deep basalt formations within large igneous provinces have been proposed as target reservoirs for carbon capture and sequestration on the basis of favorable CO2 -water-rock reaction kinetics that suggest carbonate mineralization rates on the order of 10(2)-10(3) d. Although these results are encouraging, there exists much uncertainty surrounding th...

The U.S. Geological survey has estimated that there are up to 4,900 MWe of undiscovered geothermal resources and 92,000 MWe of enhanced geothermal potential within the state of Idaho. Of particular interest are the resources of the Eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) which was formed by volcanic activity associated with the relative movement of the Ye...

The Juan de Fuca plate, off the western coast of North America, has been suggested as a site for geological sequestration of anthropogenic carbon dioxide because of its many attractive characteristics (high permeability, large storage capacity, reactive rock types). Here we model CO2 injection into fractured basalts comprising the upper several hun...

The stochastic continuum (SC) representation is one common approach for simulating the effects of fracture heterogeneity in groundwater flow and transport models. These SC reservoir models are generally developed using geostatistical methods (e.g., kriging or sequential simulation) that rely on the model semivariogram to describe the spatial variab...

A set of CO2 flux, geochemical, and hydrologic measurement techniques was used to characterize the source of and quantify gaseous and dissolved CO2 discharges from the area of Soda Springs, southeastern Idaho. An eddy covariance system was deployed for ~one month near a bubbling spring and measured net CO2 fluxes from −74 to 1147 g m−2 d−1. An inve...

The geologic characteristics and evolution of the Eastern Snake River Plain are consistent with transfer of large amounts of magma advected heat at mid- to upper-crustal levels. We speculate that some of this heat is stored below surficial basalt lavas, within underlying dense, hydrothermally altered rhyolites that infill large nested calderas. Cry...

Business managers involved in the production of greenhouse gases have several critical concerns. In parallel with efforts to improve performance, reduce deployment schedules, and increase cost-effectiveness, those responsible for carbon sequestration solutions must address their responsibility for long-term liability. Existing regulations for subsu...

Geological sequestration of carbon dioxide in deep reservoirs may provide a large-scale option for reducing the emissions of this gas into the atmosphere. The effectiveness of sequestration depends on the storage capacity and stability of the reservoir and risk of leakage into the overburden. Reservoir rocks can react with a CO 2 -water mixture, po...

We apply a diverse set of methods to map and quantify surface CO2 emissions with distinct styles and geologic sources at two natural CO2 release sites. Mammoth Mountain is a dormant volcano located in California, where volcanogenic CO2 is emitted diffusely through soils within relatively large (km2-scale) areas. We used the eddy covariance (EC) and...

Carbon dioxide sequestration in large reservoirs can reduce emissions of this green house gas into the atmosphere. Basalts are promising host rocks due to their volumetric extend, worldwide distribution, and recent observations that CO2-water mixtures react with basalt minerals to precipitate as carbonate minerals, trapping the CO2. The chemical re...

Uranium and thorium-series disequilibrium in nature permits the determination of many in-situ physico-chemical, geologic and hydrologic variables that control the long-term migration of radionuclides in geologic systems. It also provides site-specific, natural analog information valuable to the assessment of geologic disposal of nuclear wastes. In...

At Idaho National Laboratory, Cr(VI) concentrations in a groundwater plume once exceeded regulatory limits in some monitoring wells but have generally decreased over time. This study used Cr stable isotope measurements to determine if part of this decrease resulted from removal of Cr(VI) via reduction to insoluble Cr(III). Although waters in the st...

Basalt rocks contain some of the most reactive minerals when in contact with CO 2 -water mixtures. The chemical reaction between minerals rich in calcium, magnesium and iron and carbonic acid precipitates carbonates in the pore space. This process would increase the elastic moduli and velocity of the rock. At the same time, the higher compressibili...

Geologic sequestration of CO2 is proposed as the only promising large-scale method to help reduce CO2 gas emission by its capture at large point sources and subsequent long-term storage in deep geologic formations. Reliable and cost-effective monitoring will be important aspect of ensuring geological sequestration is a safe, effective, and acceptab...

Characterizing fracture heterogeneity for subsurface flow and transport modeling has been of interest to the hydrogeologic community for many years. Currently, stochastic continuum and discrete fracture representations have come to be accepted as two of the most commonly used tools for incorporating fracture heterogeneity into subsurface flow and t...

Carbon storage in geologic formations is one method to prevent carbon dioxide (CO2), produced by fossil fuel combustion, from entering the Earth's atmosphere. The monitoring, verification and accounting (MVA) of geologically sequestered CO2 is critical to the operation of a geologic storage site. Surface MVA techniques need to identify seepage from...

The Carbon Issues Task Force has the responsibility to evaluate emissions reduction and carbon offset credit options, geologic carbon sequestration and carbon capture, terrestrial carbon sequestration on forest lands, and terrestrial carbon sequestration on agricultural lands. They have worked diligently to identify ways in which Idaho can position...

Implementation of commercial scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) requires an understanding of the long-term fate of CO2 sequestered in the subsurface. Critical to the success of large-scale CCS is an understanding of CO2 transport and geochemical process that occur in storage reservoirs, and potentially in the near surface should a leak occur. O...

Addition of molasses and urea was tested as a means of stimulating microbial urea hydrolysis in the Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer in Idaho. Ureolysis is an integral component of a novel remediation approach for divalent trace metal and radionuclide contaminants in groundwater and associated geomedia, where the contaminants are immobilized by co...

Technologies to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and increase the sequestration of CO2 have received increasing attention since the development of the Kyoto protocol. One promising technology is the sequestration of CO2 in geologic formations. The suitability of a fractured basalt reservoir for CO2 sequestration is constrained by three broad ca...

The objective of this work was to investigate flow and transport in a layered, variably saturated system consisting of both fractured rock and sedimentary material during focused infiltration from the surface. Two tracer tests were performed using the Vadose Zone Research Park (VZRP) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The first test occurred u...

A sub-regional scale, three-dimensional flow model of the Snake River Plain Aquifer was developed to support remediation decisions for Waste Area Group 10, Operable Unit 10 08 at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site. This model has been calibrated primarily to water levels and secondarily to groundwater velocities interpreted from stable isotop...

A field research site has been developed to explore the combined use of physical experiments and mathematical modeling to analyze large‐scale infiltration and chemical transport through the unsaturated media overlying the Snake River Plain Aquifer in southeastern Idaho. This site offers opportunities to observe water and contaminant migration influ...

The Vadose Zone Research Park (VZRP) is a multidisciplinary field research center located at the Idaho National Laboratory. The VZRP vadose zone consists of variably fractured interfingering basalt flows intercalated with sedimentary interbeds. Recent field studies at the VZRP have shown that sedimentary interbeds intercept, attenuate, and laterall...

Predicting fluid and contaminant transport in the vadose zone near the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) at the INEEL has been problematic due to the complex geology underlying the site. In an attempt to better understand the controlling mechanism of subsurface fluid transport, a system of monitoring instruments were installed...

The Vadose Zone Research Park (VZRP) provides a unique opportunity to investigate flow and transport in a thick, fractured and layered vadose zone. The VZRP includes two newly constructed percolation ponds each approximately 160000 square ft in area, which receive roughly 1.0 to 1.5 million gallons/day of uncontaminated process water. Monitoring we...

Groundwater contamination by radionuclides and metals from past weapons processing activities is a significant problem for the United States Department of Energy. Removal of these pollutants from the subsurface can be prohibitively expensive and result in worker exposure, and therefore in situ containment and stabilization is an attractive remediat...

Beginning in 1997 a series of studies utilizing uranium and strontium isotopes were undertaken to characterize the Eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). These studies identified fast flow and slow flow zones within the ESRP aquifer at the INEEL. The work presented here is th...

The eastern Snake River Plain aquifer is among the largest and most productive aquifers in the United States. Protection of this resource requires an understanding of the dominant mechanisms that control groundwater chemistry in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer. To assess the chemistry of the deeper waters of the aquifer, two deep thermal well...

We develop two alternative conceptual hydrogeologic models of the Eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer to explain the spatial distribution of strontium and uranium isotope data. The ESRP aquifer flows southwesterly within a northeastern trending structural basin 200 miles long and 50 to 70 miles wide. The basin is composed of 3000 to 10000 feet...

The isotopic composition and concentration of uranium and strontium in groundwater, combined with solute concentration data, provide important details regarding groundwater geochemical evolution and flow-pathways in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer. The study was conducted in the vicinity of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Lab...

Preferential flow paths are expected in many groundwater systems and must be located because they can greatly affect contaminant transport. The fundamental characteristics of radiogenic isotope ratios in chemically evolving waters make them highly effective as preferential flow path indicators. These ratios tend to be more easily interpreted than s...

Uranium and thorium-decay series disequilibria in groundwater occur as a result of water-rock interactions, and they provide site-specific, natural analog information for assessment of in-situ, long-term migration of radionuclides in the far field of a nuclear waste disposal site. In this study, a mass balance model was used to relate the decay-ser...

Uranium sorption studies were conducted on twenty-five sandy sediments obtained from Virginia`s Easter Shore Peninsula using batch contact methods. Distribution coefficient (Kd) and sorption isotherms have been determined as function of solution pH. All sediment samples strongly sorbed dissolved uranium species at pH values above 5. Sediments chara...

In recent years, several approaches have been developed to model the evolution of strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) in porous media. In fractured rock, however, diffusion limits the rates of reaction between mobile water and mineral surfaces inside fracture-bounded blocks. Diffusion can limit transfer of fluids with differing isotopic ratios bet...

In many ways, the mountain west (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming) is an energy colony for the rest of the United States: it is rich in energy resources that are extracted to fuel economic growth in the wealthier and more populous coastal regions. Federal agencies and global corporations often behave as i...

To assess the geochemical controls on water quality, water chemistries from approximately 75 US Geological Survey wells were evaluated using the MINTEQA2 and NETPATH computer codes. The results of this study show that the aquifer chemistry is strongly, controlled by groundwater mixing and minor basalt weathering and will aid in the establishment of...