Analysis of legacy geophysical data to delineate geologic hydrogen occurrences in the Midcontinent Rift System, Iowa, USA
4 affiliations
- 1Iowa Geological Survey, The University of Iowa
- 2Battelle Carbon Services
- 3School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability, The University of Iowa
- 4Center for Geophysics, Energy, and Minerals (CGEM), Colorado School of Mines
Abstract
Geologic hydrogen is among contemporary global interests to minimize carbon dioxide emissions. It is mainly produced by serpentinization of olivine within mafic rocks, which comprise the Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) of the midwestern United States. Exploration is active along the MRS in Iowa, where in 1969, a 96.3% hydrogen gas measurement was reported from a natural gas storage field near Vincent. Data useful to geologic hydrogen exploration in Iowa are limited to legacy petrophysical logs and seismic lines from early fossil energy exploration. Legacy data from the Vincent area were evaluated for evidence of subsurface hydrogen and system components. Hydrogen shows are indicated in multiple wells within the upper Eau Claire carbonate. Faults that would serve as migration pathways are evident in the MRS basalts and overlying sedimentary strata. The response of petrophysical logs in interpreted zones of hydrogen accumulation suggest the obsolete neutron-gamma logging tool is sensitive to the presence of geologic hydrogen, but ancillary resistivity, acoustic, and density logs are necessary for further interpretation. Pilot study natural gas injections may have displaced accumulated hydrogen to wells at the structure’s flanks, and some samples were likely from intervals outside the accumulation, which could be tested by reservoir modeling studies.
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BibTeX
@article{honings2026analysis,
title = {{Analysis of legacy geophysical data to delineate geologic hydrogen occurrences in the Midcontinent Rift System, Iowa, USA}},
author = {Joseph P. Honings and Ryan J. Clark and John E. Malone and Melissa Evans and Hang Chen and Mengli Zhang and Youguo Li and Avery Norman and Zoe Shadravan and Chase Evanson and Lillie Carreon},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-67345-9},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-67345-9},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Analysis of legacy geophysical data to delineate geologic hydrogen occurrences in the Midcontinent Rift System, Iowa, USA
AU - Joseph P. Honings
AU - Ryan J. Clark
AU - John E. Malone
AU - Melissa Evans
AU - Hang Chen
AU - Mengli Zhang
AU - Youguo Li
AU - Avery Norman
AU - Zoe Shadravan
AU - Chase Evanson
AU - Lillie Carreon
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-67345-9
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-67345-9
AB - Geologic hydrogen is among contemporary global interests to minimize carbon dioxide emissions. It is mainly produced by serpentinization of olivine within mafic rocks, which comprise the Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) of the midwestern United States. Exploration is active along the MRS in Iowa, where in 1969, a 96.3% hydrogen gas measurement was reported from a natural gas storage field near Vincent. Data useful to geologic hydrogen exploration in Iowa are limited to legacy petrophysical logs and seismic lines from early fossil energy exploration. Legacy data from the Vincent area were evaluated for evidence of subsurface hydrogen and system components. Hydrogen shows are indicated in multiple wells within the upper Eau Claire carbonate. Faults that would serve as migration pathways are evident in the MRS basalts and overlying sedimentary strata. The response of petrophysical logs in interpreted zones of hydrogen accumulation suggest the obsolete neutron-gamma logging tool is sensitive to the presence of geologic hydrogen, but ancillary resistivity, acoustic, and density logs are necessary for further interpretation. Pilot study natural gas injections may have displaced accumulated hydrogen to wells at the structure’s flanks, and some samples were likely from intervals outside the accumulation, which could be tested by reservoir modeling studies.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -