Studying Carleton’s geothermal heat exchange system with Chloé Fandel, Dan Maxbauer, Sarah Titus and Jonathon Cooper
- 2-4 students
- 40 hours per week, June 15th through August 21st, up to 10 weeks – exact dates flexible and to be discussed
- Primarily in-person but some possibility for remote or hybrid work
Description:
The geothermal heat exchange system at Carleton hosts three operational borefields and one experimental test well. A fourth geothermal system is currently under construction and further expansion of geothermal on campus is under consideration. The Geology Department began an ongoing experiment when the geothermal fields on the Bald Spot and Mini Bald Spot were installed in 2018. More recently, we installed shallow monitoring wells on the perimeter of Bell Field to monitor the interaction of geothermal heat exchange, shallow aquifers, and Spring Creek in 2024. This infrastructure provides a unique opportunity to study geothermal heat exchange systems on various spatial scales that can be informative for improving the efficiency, monitoring environmental impacts, and guiding future system design.
There are several ongoing research projects and objectives related to this project. Specific research questions and projects will be assigned to students based on experience, skills, and interest. Projects could include:
- Data collection for Bell Field project, which involves field work, water sampling, and sensor network maintenance.
- Data analysis for the Bell Field project, the Bald Spot to Mini Bald Spot comparison project, or campus wide geothermal efficiency monitoring.
- Stratigraphic and hydrogeologic analysis of experimental test well on campus.
Suggested prerequisites:
There are a range of potential project types and exact courses that might be helpful will vary, but could include: geomorphology, hydrogeology, chemistry, physics, geochemistry, statistics, introduction to geology, or sedimentology.
Exact experience and skills that could be helpful for this project include:
- Experience with R and/or Python for interpreting data.
- Experience or willingness to learn and work with field equipment, conduct field work and sampling, and spend time outdoors in inclement weather (rain, heat, wind, etc).
- Experience or willingness to learn and work in a chemistry wet lab.
How to Apply: If you would like to apply, please fill out this application form by March 2nd. Please reach out to any of the listed advisors above with any questions.