{"id":5883,"date":"2026-06-20T01:29:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T01:29:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/green-nau\/?page_id=5883"},"modified":"2026-06-20T01:29:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T01:29:32","slug":"geothermal-borehole-thermal-conductivity-test","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/green-nau\/geothermal-borehole-thermal-conductivity-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Geothermal Borehole Thermal Conductivity Test"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"eplus-bg-color-row bg-color-extra-light-gray\"><div class=\"eplus-bg-color-row-content\">\n<h2>Geothermal Borehole Thermal Conductivity Test<\/h2>\n<div class='shortcode-column-container'><!-- shortcode-column -->\n<div class=\"shortcode-column shortcode-column--count-2\">\n    \n<h4><\/h4>\n<h4><span data-sheets-root=\"1\">Project Summary: <\/span><\/h4>\n<p>The Geothermal Borehole Thermal Conductivity Test project is evaluating the feasibility of introducing a low-temperature geothermal heat pump system on the Flagstaff mountain campus. Managed by Facility Services and the Office of Sustainability, this initiative involves drilling a single test borehole to a depth of 500 feet to measure sub-surface thermal conductivity and geological parameters. By determining whether the local geology can support a transition away from the current natural gas-dependent, high-temperature boiler system, the project serves as a critical first step toward eliminating the university&#8217;s largest source of scope 1 emissions. Additionally, the infrastructure study opens up hands-on research opportunities for earth sciences students to conduct subsurface characterization using ground-penetrating radar and seismic equipment. Ultimately, this data-driven test provides the Climate Action Plan steering committee with the essential insights needed to chart a cost-effective, truly carbon-free pathway toward campus neutrality goals.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- shortcode-column -->\n<div class=\"shortcode-column shortcode-column--count-2\">\n    \n<h5>Project Lead:<\/h5>\n<p>Sam Blustein<\/p>\n<h5>Project Advisor:<\/h5>\n<p>Andrew Iacona<\/p>\n<p><strong>Date<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p>2021-04-13<\/p>\n<h5>Funding Amount:<\/h5>\n<p>$71,895<\/p>\n<h5>Department:<\/h5>\n<p>Facility Services<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/136\/2026\/06\/Geothermal_Borehole_2021_Project_Application.pdf\">Supporting Documents<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3002,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ring_central_script_selection":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5883","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/green-nau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/green-nau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/green-nau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/green-nau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3002"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/green-nau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5883"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/green-nau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5885,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/green-nau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5883\/revisions\/5885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/green-nau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}