Energy consumption worldwide has undergone a recent shift, with hydrocarbons, coal, and new energy sources taking center stage. However, fossil fuels face criticism due to their negative impacts on the environment through air pollution. Geothermal energy is a clean, renewable, and eco-friendly alternative that can be harnessed for power generation. The Lunayyir volcanic field is located in the western part of Saudi Arabia and has been identified as a potential geothermal resource. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of the gravity, magnetic, and land surface temperature data collected over the study area is conducted to investigate the geothermal potential. The gravity data are processed using standard techniques to correct for instrument drift, diurnal variations, and topographic effects and to filter out high-frequency noise. The magnetic data are processed using standard procedures. Analysis of the gravity data shows that the Lunayyir volcanic field is characterized by a series of gravity anomalies, which can be interpreted as indicative of the presence of subsurface geologic structures that are similar in geothermal areas, such as faults, fractures, and intrusions. The magnetic data, on the other hand, show that the volcanic field has a relatively low magnetic susceptibility, which is consistent with the presence of volcanic rocks implying shallow heat sources. Landsat satellite data are utilized to calculate the land surface temperature through the use of GIS software. Additionally, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is calculated using the near-infrared and red bands of the Landsat satellite. The land surface temperature of the year 2007 shows the relatively high temperature at the surface as compared to 2000 and 2021, which is an indication of volcanic activities in the subsurface. It is suggested that these structures may provide conduits for hot fluids, which could potentially be exploited for geothermal energy production. The obtained results emphasize the importance of combining different geophysical datasets to obtain a better understanding of underground geology and geothermal systems. In general, this study improves the assessment of the Lunayyir volcanic field in the western part of Saudi Arabia for geothermal energy.

The global demand for energy is increasing rapidly due to population growth, urbanization, and industrialization, as well as to meet the desire for a higher standard of living. However, environmental concerns, such as air pollution from fossil fuels, are becoming limiting factors for energy sources. Therefore, the appropriate and sustainable solution is to transition towards renewable energy sources to meet global energy demands by using environmentally friendly sources, such as geothermal. The Harrat Rahat volcanic field, located in the western region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), gets more attention due to its geothermal potential as a viable site for geothermal energy exploration due to its high enthalpy. The prime objective of this study is to present up-to-date and comprehensive information on the utilization of borehole temperature and remote sensing data to identify the most prospective zones with significant geothermal activity favorable for exploration and drilling. A brief description of the selected wells and the methodology used to determine the petrophysical parameters relevant to the geothermal potential assessment are presented. Special emphasis is given to gamma-ray ray and temperature logs for calculating heat production and the geothermal gradient. The effectiveness of various machine learning techniques are assessed throughout this study for predicting the temperature-at-depth to evaluate the suitability of employing machine learning models for temperature prediction, and it is found that XG Boost provided excellent results. It can be observed that some linear anomalies can be traced in the NW, trending on the west side of the Harrat volcanic field based on magnetic data interpretation. The land surface temperature in 2021 exhibited higher temperatures compared to 2000, suggesting potential volcanic activity in the subsurface. It is concluded that the integration of remote sensing data with subsurface data provides the most reliable results.

Mineral resources exploration in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia became an important target for the Saudi government. Nowadays, the economic vision of the country is to move away from oil-based country to multisource energy-based country. In Baljurashi area there were ancient mines for Copper, Cobalt, Magnesium, Zircon, and some other minerals. In the current study, we aim to evaluate the Baljurashi area in terms of mineral resources using the advanced technique. Consequently, we carried out ground gamma ray spectrometry survey in an area of about 50 km², elevation variation ranges from 380 m to 2280 m above the sea level. We used the RS-700 system to collect the gamma ray spectrometry data. In addition, we used the existing geochemical analysis results for this area and integrated the results to map the most important minerals. The integration work indicates that the area of Baljurashi is rich in mineral resources. The mineralization zones are located in the eastern part of the area where elevation is high (e.g., east of the escarpment). We also found that these mineralization zones are structurally controlled. Important mineral maps were produced (e.g. Cu, Cr, Mn, and Zr). We highly recommend more geophysical studies to evaluate the Baljurashi area for mineral identifications and quantifications.