The Newberry Deep Drilling Project (NDDP)

We present the arguments to drill a deep well to the ductile/brittle transition zone (T>400°C) at Newberry Volcano, central Oregon state, U.S.A. The main research goals are related to heat and mass transfer in the crust from the point of view of natural hazards and geothermal energy: enhanced geothermal system (EGS supercritical and beyond-brittle), volcanic hazards, mechanisms of magmatic intrusions, geomechanics close to a magmatic system, calibration of geophysical imaging techniques and drilling in a high temperature environment. Drilling at Newberry will bring additional information to a very promising field of research initiated by ICDP in the Deep Drilling project in Iceland with IDDP-1 on Krafla in 2009, followed by IDDP-2 on the Reykjanes ridge in 2016, and the future Japan Beyond-Brittle project and Krafla Magma Testbed. Newberry Volcano contains one of the largest geothermal heat reservoirs in the western United States, extensively studied for the last 40 years. All the knowledge and experience collected make this an excellent choice for drilling a well that will reach high temperatures at relatively shallow depths (< 5000 m). The large conductive thermal anomaly (320°C at 3000 m depth), has already been well-characterized by extensive drilling and geophysical surveys. This will extend current knowledge from the existing 3000 m deep boreholes at the sites into and through the brittle-ductile transition approaching regions of partial melt like lateral dykes. The important scientific questions that will form the basis of a full drilling proposal, have been addressed during an International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP) workshop held in Bend, Oregon in September 2017. They will be presented and discussed as well as the strategic plan to address them.