The Exploration Part of the DRG project is focused on identification and exploration of the deep roots of geothermal systems, with the aim to improve understanding of the nature of the boundary layer between magmatic intrusions and geothermal reservoirs. The project is divided into three subprojects: i) What can be learned from sites where fossil roots of the geothermal system have been exposed, ii) How can the boundary layer be imaged with seismic techniques, and iii) How can crustal deformation studies complement traditional exploration methods. The work within the first subproject of the DRG project in this respect is complemented with several other projects, including a petrographic study on the occurrence of garnets within the geothermal system, on the character of the hornfels, and a comparison with similar rocks observed, for example, in wells in Hellisheiði, and a project on evaluation of the infiltration of fluid into the intrusion through an isotopic study.

Another subproject of DRG Part 1 uses seismic methods to study the roots of an active geothermal area, with the Krafla volcano and its geothermal system selected as a case study. The purpose is to study and map velocities of both S- and P-waves in and around the geothermal system in the Krafla volcano. Lastly, the third subproject of DRG Part 1 utilizes the Krísuvík geothermal area for a study of crustal deformation in geothermal areas. The project has mapped in detail repeated inflation and deflation periods in the Krísuvík geothermal area using both GPS geodesy and interferometric analysis of synthetic aperture radar images (InSAR).