UAV-based thermal imaging and heat output estimation of a coastal geothermal resource: La Jolla beach, Baja California, Mexico
2021
Carbajal-Martínez, Daniel | Peiffer, Loïc | Hinojosa Corona, Alejandro | Trasviña-Castro, Armando | Arregui-Ojeda, Sergio M. | Carranza-Chávez, Francisco J. | Flores-Luna, Carlos | Méndez-Alonzo, Rodrigo | Inguaggiato, Claudio | Casallas-Moreno, Karen L.
The exploration of unexploited geothermal resources is required to encourage the use of renewable energy. This study focuses on La Jolla beach, Ensenada, Mexico. The beach hosts a thermal anomaly with temperatures of up to 52 °C at the surface and up to 93 °C at 20 cm depth. The objectives were to: map the thermal anomaly, understand the impact of tides, quantify the thermal water discharge rate and heat output, and discuss a direct use of the energy. The mapping was performed with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles equipped with optical and thermal cameras at two different dates. Additional temperature measurements were performed with a thermocouple, while the total fluid discharge was estimated from flow measurements. A comparison between the campaigns indicated that the highest surface temperature area was more than three times larger in 2019 than in 2018 (259 m² vs. 69 m²). Such change was due to the tidal range and associated hydrostatic pressure variations. The total thermal water discharge is 330 ± 44 L s⁻¹, which corresponds to an advective heat output of 40.5 ± 5.2 MWt. The use of this energy in a Multi-Effect Distillation desalinization plant can contribute to cover the shortage of freshwater in Ensenada.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by National Agricultural Library