This study investigates the potential for natural hydrogen (H2) production across western continental Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, focusing on ophiolitic and ultramafic massifs. Our approach integrates geophysical, geological and geochemical parameters to identify regions where serpentinization could be a key natural process for H2 generation. Based on these parameters, we have developed a comprehensive probabilistic model to assess the likelihood of abiotic H2 production at depth. This model incorporates parameters such as geothermal heat flux, magnetic anomalies and the existence of hyperalkaline springs, each weighted according to their possible influence on serpentinization. This weighting is derived from a case study in Albania, where H2 degassing has been observed. The model has been applied to several ophiolitic and ultramafic complexes, including the Ordenes (Spain), the Alter-do-Chão (Portugal), the Ronda (Spain), the northwestern Alps, the Apennine (Italy), the Dinarides, the Hellenides (e.g. Vourinos and Pindos ophiolites in Greece), Troodos (Cyprus), Kızıldağ, Bassit, Hatay (Turkey) and Leka (Norway). A ranking has been proposed in terms of the probability of finding H2 at these locations. Subsequently, in order to underscore the potential need for region-specific adaptations of the model, the model was applied to the well-documented Samail Ophiolite in Oman, where H2 seepages are observed. While the model provides a framework for H2-targeted exploration, it also acknowledges its current limitations, emphasizing the necessity for continuous refinement and validation against new observations. The inherent uncertainties in geological processes call for a dynamic modelling strategy to accurately predict and explore geological H2 resources.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Research Article|
December 17, 2024
Natural hydrogen exploration within Western European and the eastern Mediterranean ophiolites and ultramafic complexes
Frédéric-Victor Donzé;
Frédéric-Victor Donzé
*
1
Université
Grenoble-Alpes, Université de Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS, IRD, IFSTTAR, ISTerre
, 38000 Grenoble, France
*
Correspondence: [email protected]
Search for other works by this author on:
Nicolas Lefeuvre;
Nicolas Lefeuvre
1
Université
Grenoble-Alpes, Université de Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS, IRD, IFSTTAR, ISTerre
, 38000 Grenoble, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Laurent Truche;
Laurent Truche
1
Université
Grenoble-Alpes, Université de Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS, IRD, IFSTTAR, ISTerre
, 38000 Grenoble, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Yan Yao;
Yan Yao
1
Université
Grenoble-Alpes, Université de Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS, IRD, IFSTTAR, ISTerre
, 38000 Grenoble, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Ivan Vujevíc;
Ivan Vujevíc
1
Université
Grenoble-Alpes, Université de Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS, IRD, IFSTTAR, ISTerre
, 38000 Grenoble, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Hugo Dutoit
Hugo Dutoit
1
Université
Grenoble-Alpes, Université de Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS, IRD, IFSTTAR, ISTerre
, 38000 Grenoble, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Frédéric-Victor Donzé
*
1
Université
Grenoble-Alpes, Université de Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS, IRD, IFSTTAR, ISTerre
, 38000 Grenoble, France
Nicolas Lefeuvre
1
Université
Grenoble-Alpes, Université de Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS, IRD, IFSTTAR, ISTerre
, 38000 Grenoble, France
Laurent Truche
1
Université
Grenoble-Alpes, Université de Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS, IRD, IFSTTAR, ISTerre
, 38000 Grenoble, France
Yan Yao
1
Université
Grenoble-Alpes, Université de Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS, IRD, IFSTTAR, ISTerre
, 38000 Grenoble, France
Ivan Vujevíc
1
Université
Grenoble-Alpes, Université de Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS, IRD, IFSTTAR, ISTerre
, 38000 Grenoble, France
Hugo Dutoit
1
Université
Grenoble-Alpes, Université de Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS, IRD, IFSTTAR, ISTerre
, 38000 Grenoble, France
*
Correspondence: [email protected]
Publisher: Geological Society of London
Received:
05 Jul 2024
Revision Received:
25 Sep 2024
Accepted:
07 Oct 2024
First Online:
10 Oct 2024
Online ISSN: 2041-4943
Print ISSN: 1467-7873
- Funder(s):Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Award Id(s): ANR- 497 20-CE01-0020
- Award Id(s):
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by The Geological Society of London for GSL and AAG. All rights, including for text and data mining (TDM), artificial intelligence (AI) training, and similar technologies, are reserved. For permissions: https://www.lyellcollection.org/publishing-hub/permissions-policy. Publishing disclaimer: https://www.lyellcollection.org/publishing-hub/publishing-ethics
© 2024 The Author(s)
Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis (2024) 24 (4): geochem2024-043.
Article history
Received:
05 Jul 2024
Revision Received:
25 Sep 2024
Accepted:
07 Oct 2024
First Online:
10 Oct 2024
Citation
Frédéric-Victor Donzé, Nicolas Lefeuvre, Laurent Truche, Yan Yao, Ivan Vujevíc, Hugo Dutoit; Natural hydrogen exploration within Western European and the eastern Mediterranean ophiolites and ultramafic complexes. Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis 2024;; 24 (4): geochem2024–043. doi: https://doi.org/10.1144/geochem2024-043
Download citation file:
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Index Terms/Descriptors
- Albania
- Andalusia Spain
- Betic Cordillera
- chemical reactions
- East Mediterranean
- Europe
- exploration
- Galicia Spain
- geothermal exploration
- hydrogen
- Iberian Peninsula
- igneous rocks
- magnetic anomalies
- Mediterranean Sea
- metasomatism
- ophiolite
- Ordenes Complex
- plutonic rocks
- serpentinization
- Serrania de Ronda
- Southern Europe
- Spain
- ultramafics
- Western Europe
- Alter-do-Chao
Latitude & Longitude
Citing articles via
Related Articles
MOBILE TRACE ELEMENTS AND FLUID-DOMINATED PROCESSES IN THE RONDA PERIDOTITE, SOUTHERN SPAIN
The Canadian Mineralogist
L'orcelite des peridotites de Beni Bousera (Maroc), Ronda (Espagne), Table Mountain et Blow-Me-Down Mountain (Terre-Neuve) et du Pinde Septentrional (Grece)
The Canadian Mineralogist
XONOTLITE IN RODINGITE ASSEMBLAGES FROM THE RONDA PERIDOTITES, BETIC CORDILLERAS, SOUTHERN SPAIN
The Canadian Mineralogist
Tectonic implications of the granite dyke swarm in the Ronda peridotites (Betic Cordilleras, Southern Spain)
Journal of the Geological Society
Related Book Content
Exhumation of western Alboran peridotites in an Oligocene–Miocene oblique continental rift system
The Crust-Mantle and Lithosphere-Asthenosphere Boundaries: Insights from Xenoliths, Orogenic Deep Sections, and Geophysical Studies
Paleozoic ophiolites in the Variscan suture of Galicia (northwest Spain): Distribution, characteristics, and meaning
4-D Framework of Continental Crust
U-Pb chronometry of polymetamorphic high-pressure granulites: An example from the allochthonous terranes of the NW Iberian Variscan belt
4-D Framework of Continental Crust
Tectonic evolution of the upper allochthon of the Órdenes complex (northwestern Iberian Massif): Structural constraints to a polyorogenic peri-Gondwanan terrane
The Evolution of the Rheic Ocean: From Avalonian-Cadomian Active Margin to Alleghenian-Variscan Collision