Hydrothermal systems involving dormant faults within orogenic belts are rarely targeted for geothermal exploration, partly because of the complexity of the 3‐D topography, the unknown permeability of the fault zones and the basement lithology, and the lack of deep‐level data. This study brings together various types of surface information (spring features, geological data, topography, and hydrochemistry) to explain the alignment of 29 hot springs (29–73 °C) along the dormant Têt fault (Eastern Pyrénées, France). Water ion concentrations, stable water isotopes, and lithium isotopic ratios indicate that (i) fluids originating from meteoric water infiltrate above an altitude of 2,000 m, (ii) the rocks interacting with the fluids are similar for all the springs, and (iii) the maximum fluid temperatures at depth show similar variations along the fault and at the surface. A 3‐D numerical model of the system, assembled from field structural data and from a digital elevation model, explores the permeability combinations for the basement and for a three‐fault network. The models indicate that for a relatively permeable basement (10−16 m2), fluids are topography‐driven down to thousands of meters (until −3,700 m) before being captured by the more permeable Têt fault. Hot spring temperatures can be numerically reproduced when fault permeability is around 10−14 m2, a value slightly lower than the critical permeability for which free convection would occur within the Têt fault. Our study shows that thermal anomalies are possible along dormant faults close to elevated topography in the core of an orogenic belt, thereby opening new perspectives for geothermal exploration.

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International audienceDeep temperature estimates previously made in France show three main positive thermal anomalies, one of them centred on the Provence basin (south-east France) between Marseille and Montpellier. This study presents newly corrected temperature data and improved temperature maps in order to (i) validate or to invalidate the thermal anomalies previously identified and (ii) relate deep temperatures with major geological structures of the area. Although thermal gradient varies from place to place, it averages 31.3°C/km in the Provence basin (from 30.6 to 32.5 °C/km in average for France according to the chosen database), but some places show gradients reaching 36°C/km. To characterize thermal anomalous areas, a three-dimensional model of the temperatures was built between the surface and 6 km depth, allowing us to elaborate thermal maps and cross-sections. The identified thermal anomalies are different from those obtained by former works. New other “hot” anomalous areas (Montpellier, Lodève and Drôme areas) and cold anomalous areas (Aix-en-Provence and Cévennes areas) have been highlighted. At depth, thermal cross-sections show 50 km-scale anomalies, which are parallel with the major faults (Cévennes, Nimes, Salon-Cavaillon and Moyenne-Durance faults) whereas more elongated (roughly 100 km) anomalies are associated with perpendicular cross-sections. On these cross-sections each major fault is associated with a thermal anomaly. In addition, a cold area may overlie a warm one, and vice versa. Among different possible explanations, these thermal signatures could correspond to convective fluid circulation within the faults. Simple numerical models of hydrothermal convection within fault zones appear to reproduce similar amplitudes and vertical variations of thermal anomalies as those observed in the Provence basi

International audienceAssessment of the underground geothermal potential requires the knowledge of deep temperatures (1-5 km). Here, we present new temperature maps obtained from oil boreholes in the French sedimentary basins. Because of their origin, the data need to be corrected, and their local character necessitates spatial interpolation. Previous maps were obtained in the 1970s using empirical corrections and manual interpolation. In this study, we update the number of measurements by using values collected during the last thirty years, correct the temperatures for transient perturbations and carry out statistical analyses before modelling the 3D distribution of temperatures. This dataset provides 977 temperatures corrected for transient perturbations in 593 boreholes located in the French sedimentary basins. An average temperature gradient of 30.6°C/km is obtained for a representative surface temperature of 10°C. When surface temperature is not accounted for, deep measurements are best fitted with a temperature gradient of 25.7°C/km. We perform a geostatistical analysis on a residual temperature dataset (using a drift of 25.7°C/km) to constrain the 3D interpolation kriging procedure with horizontal and vertical models of variograms. The interpolated residual temperatures are added to the country-scale averaged drift in order to get a three dimensional thermal structure of the French sedimentary basins. The 3D thermal block enables us to extract isothermal surfaces and 2D sections (iso-depth maps and iso-longitude cross-sections). A number of anomalies with a limited depth and spatial extension have been identified, from shallow in the Rhine graben and Aquitanian basin, to deep in the Provence basin. Some of these anomalies (Paris basin, Alsace, south of the Provence basin) may be partly related to thick insulating sediments, while for some others (southwestern Aquitanian basin, part of the Provence basin) large-scale fluid circulation may explain superimposed cold and warm anomalies

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