The interplay of Malm carbonate permeability, gravity-driven groundwater flow, and paleoclimate – implications for the geothermal field and potential in the Molasse Basin (southern Germany), a foreland-basin play

Geothermal Energy

Science – Society – Technology

Table 1 Properties of model units

Model unit	Scenario	Φ	k		λ	ρ	C_p	H
Model unit	Scenario	Φ	Horizontal	Vertical	λ	ρ	C_p	H
Molasse (Tertiary, incl. Cretaceous)		0.20	10^–14	10^–15	2.0	2000	800	1.2
Malm (unconfined)		0.10	10⁻¹⁰	10⁻¹⁰	2.5	2400	900	0.0
Malm (+ Purbeck)	Low k	0.10	10^–13 to 10^–15	10^–14 to 10^–16	2.5	2400	900	0.0
	High k	0.10	10^–10 to 10^–14	10^–11 to 10^–15	2.5	2400	900	0.0
Variscan basement		0.03	10^–17 to 10^–20	10^–17 to 10^–20	3.5	2700	900	1.8

Model units refer to model geometry in Fig. 4. Φ = absolute porosity [-], k = permeability [m²], λ = matrix thermal conductivity [W m^–1 K^–1], ρ = matrix density [kg m^–3], C_p = isobaric matrix heat capacity [J kg^–1 K^–1], H = radiogenic heat production [10^–6 W m^–3]