Giulio Bini

Nationality: Italian
Institution: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia
Country: Italy
Research Title: Geochemical prospecting and geothermal circulation modeling at Krafla

PROJECT SUMMARY

This project focuses on the physico-chemical properties of the hydrothermal fluids of Krafla (Iceland) to develop an advanced geochemical conceptual model of the geothermal system and explore the dynamics of trans-critical fluid circulation using numerical modeling. Additionally, through a collaboration with West System (Italy) we will develop innovative instrumentation based on real time measurements of chemicals in fumarolic and well fluids to provide new geothermal prospecting and industrial exploitation strategies. To construct the geochemical conceptual model, we collect and analyzed the chemical and isotopic composition of fumarolic and well fluids, and we measure the soil CO2 emission with the accumulation chamber. These techniques enable us to constrain the origin of the fluids, temperature, pressure, and redox condition, and the mass and heat flow in the hydrothermal system. These constraints, together with subsurface geophysical information provided by the other ESRs, will constitute the grounds to run physico-numerical simulations for studying trans-critical fluid circulation at relatively shallow depth (~ 2 km) near rhyolitic melt pockets. The new results will be transferred to the industrial partner Landsvirkjun (National Power Company of Iceland) for revised energy exploitation strategies.

Scientific Background

I graduated from the University of Florence (Italy) with a MSc in Geological Sciences and Technologies (Hons) in 2018, after a BSc in Geological Sciences completed at the same university. During my master I focused on geothermal prospection and volcano monitoring using the geochemistry of fluids (thermal waters and fumaroles) emitted from magmatic-hydrothermal systems. In this period, I conducted a three-month traineeship at the Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica (OVSICORI-UNA) and I attended a multidisciplinary sampling expedition across the Costa Rica volcanic arc (Biology Meets Subduction) organized by the DCO. For my master thesis I worked on the geothermal prospection of the northwest province of Costa Rica, that is Guanacaste (Rincón de la Vieja, Miravalles, and Tenorio volcanoes), using gas geothermometry.
I started a PhD in Earth Sciences at the ETH Zürich (Switzerland) in September 2018, focusing on the dynamics of the magmatic-hydrothermal system of the Nisyros Caldera (Aegean Arc, Greece). Using the measurement of the soil CO2 flux and the geochemistry of fumarolic and well fluids, we quantified the current mass and heat flow in the hydrothermal system. Furthermore, using nitrogen, noble gases, and their isotopes, I study magma outgassing episodes and relative pressuretemperature changes in the hydrothermal system to better characterize the magmatic gas signature and understand the state of the magma chamber.