In a paper published in July 2023 in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, I. P. Sidorova, R. I. Saxobidinov and E. A. Golovko present a multidisciplinary geophysical study of geothermal areas in Uzbekistan. Using a newly developed geothermal map, they analyse the country’s anomalous geothermal areas.
Taking the Muruntau area as their example, they develop a method for detailing geothermal anomalies, and present new results from combined gravity, seismic and magnetotelluric surveys and their interpretation at the exploration stage.
The Muruntau area has a high measured heat flow density of 89 mW/m². Plans there include a geothermal station that would supply electricity and heat to a new settlement needed as the Muruntau gold quarry expands.
Why it matters
The paper turns survey work first reported in 2022 into a method that can be applied to other anomalies, such as the Gulistan area of the Gissar region, which the same authors studied in 2025.
