A Search for Geothermal Resources in Sri Lanka – Loan 915

Abstract

During June/July/August 2010 magnetotelluric surveying was conducted in Sri Lanka along profiles over several hot springs with the object of locating possible deep sources of geothermal energy and providing information on deep structure associated with the Highland/Vijayan boundary. A total of 86 MT stations were obtained over 7 hot springs and almost all stations were supported by TEM measurements for the control of static shift. A further 27 stations were occupied in the NW basin area of Puttalam. The Highland/Vijayan boundary can be seen as a thin, vertical section separating the low resistivity Vijayan complex from the more resistive Highland formation. Evidence from pseudo-sections indicates areas of possible geothermal interest in 2 of the 3 profiles so far analysed. Data have been provided to the University of Edinburgh for final year undergraduate projects and to two major MT groups for 3D inversion. Preliminary information regarding the project was made available through a presentation at the 20th IAGA Electromagnetic Induction Workshop in Giza, September 2010.