Distributed temperature sensing as a down-hole tool in hydrogeology

Bense, V. F., Read, T., Bour, O., Le Borgne, T., Coleman, T., Krause, S., Chalari, A., Mondanos, M., Ciocca, F. and Selker, J. S. (2016) Distributed temperature sensing as a down-hole tool in hydrogeology. Water Resources Research, 52 (12). 9259–9273. ISSN 0043-1397

[thumbnail of Accepted manuscript]
Preview
PDF (Accepted manuscript) - Accepted Version
Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) technology enables down-hole temperature monitoring to study hydrogeological processes at unprecedentedly high frequency and spatial resolution. DTS has been widely applied in passive mode in site investigations of groundwater flow, in-well flow, and subsurface thermal property estimation. However, recent years have seen the further development of the use of DTS in an active mode (A-DTS) for which heat sources are deployed. A suite of recent studies using A-DTS down-hole in hydrogeological investigations illustrate the wide range of different approaches and creativity in designing methodologies. The purpose of this review is to outline and discuss the various applications and limitations of DTS in down-hole investigations for hydrogeological conditions and aquifer geological properties. To this end, we first review examples where passive DTS has been used to study hydrogeology via down-hole applications. Secondly, we discuss and categorize current A-DTS borehole methods into three types. These are thermal advection tests, hybrid cable flow logging, and heat pulse tests. We explore the various options with regards to cable installation, heating approach, duration, and spatial extent in order to improve their applicability in a range of settings. These determine the extent to which each method is sensitive to thermal properties, vertical in well flow, or natural gradient flow. Our review confirms that the application of DTS has significant advantages over discrete point temperature measurements, particularly in deep wells, and highlights the potential for further method developments in conjunction with other emerging fiber optic based sensors such as Distributed Acoustic Sensing. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: distributed temperature sensing,subsurface hydrology
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
Related URLs:
Depositing User: Pure Connector
Date Deposited: 30 Nov 2016 00:02
Last Modified: 22 May 2023 13:30
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/61530
DOI: 10.1002/2016WR018869

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item