Evolution of Fluid Circulation in the Rhine Graben: Constraints from the Chemistry of Present Fluids

Aquilina, Luc; Genter, Albert; Elsass, Philippe; Pribnow, Daniel

doi:10.1007/978-94-017-1816-5_8

Cited by 14 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The experiments confirm that the upper continental crust exhibits reservoir properties, i.e., (1) nonnegligible connected porous volumes, of the order of a few percent of the total volume; (2) natural velocities in such environments may be of the order of 1 km/yr. Our study indicates that fluid transfer in the granite (Aquilina et al, 2000) might have been an active process at depths of 3-4 km at specific geological periods. It also supports the possibility of marine infiltration in the basement, thus reflecting the response of fluids to geological evolution.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Because of thorough water-rock interaction, the origin of the fluids is still a matter of debate. However, there is growing evidence for a marine (or sedimentary) origin for such fluids (Pauwels et al, 1993;Muchez et al, 1995;Savoye et al, 1998;Beaucaire et al, 1999;Bottomley et al, 1999;Aquilina et al, 2000Aquilina et al, , 2002Aquilina et al, , 2003Barth, 2000;Gleeson et al, 2000;Kloppmann et al, 2002). Such an origin implies downward fluid migration on a large scale.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…This could have been the case during the Eocene-Oligocene period, at the beginning of the graben evolution. From chemical and isotopic studies of fluids in the graben, Aquilina et al (2000) described the variation of the fluid composition and migration in the graben as a succession of phases with different hydrogeological regimes and water-rock interaction conditions. The beginning of the Oligocene is thought to correspond to the period of fluid introduction into the granite.…”

Section: Fluid Velocitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Porosity and fluid velocities in the upper continental crust (2 to 4 km) inferred from injection tests at the Soultz-sous-Forêts geothermal site

Aquilina

Dreuzy

Bour

et al. 2004

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Fluid Velocitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Porosity and fluid velocities in the upper continental crust (2 to 4 km) inferred from injection tests at the Soultz-sous-Forêts geothermal site

Aquilina

Dreuzy

Bour

et al. 2004

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

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“…It increases below about 3000 m and is almost constant below 3500 m, with a value around 3 °C/100 m. At 5000 m, the temperature is about 200 °C. The low value of the gradient between 1000 and 3000 m is interpreted as the result of convective fluid circulation of natural water through the large‐scale normal fault system since the composition of the water is the same all along this depth range (Clauser & Villinger 1990; Aquilina et al 2000; Kohl et al 2000).…”

Section: Geology and Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seismic response of the fractured and faulted granite of Soultz-sous-Forêts (France) to 5 km deep massive water injections

Dorbath

Cuenot²,

Genter³

et al. 2009

Geophysical Journal International

147

107

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S U M M A R YThe European Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS, formerly Hot Dry Rock, HDR) programme of Soultz-sous-Forêts is organized around three wells drilled to a depth of about 5000 m. Hydraulic stimulations were performed in the wells in 2000 (GPK2 well), 2003 (GPK3 well) and 2005 (GPK4 well). The stimulation of GPK2 induced more than 700 seismic events with a magnitude greater than 1.0. The seismicity depicts a dense, homogeneous cloud, without any apparent structure. Medium-size earthquakes represent more than 80 per cent of the cumulative seismic moment. The b-value of the Gutenberg and Richter law is larger than 1.2. The injectivity has been increased by a factor 20. These characteristics indicate that the stimulation reactivated a 3-D dense network of fractures. The stimulation of GPK3 induced only about 250 events with a magnitude greater than 1.0 but with a greater proportion of large events, up to 2.9. The hypocentres form clear structures identified as large faults, the b-value is about 0.9 and the large events (M > 2.0) account for the greater part of the cumulative seismic moment. The injectivity of the well, which was already high before the stimulation, remained unchanged. The stimulation of GPK4 was achieved in two stages. This stimulation produced even less induced events, making the interpretation difficult. The differences between the seismic response of GPK2 and GPK3 are due to the presence of large faults cut by GPK3 or in its close vicinity and reached by the injected water. Once a seismic event occurs on a fault, a sequence of earthquakes is triggered and the seismicity behaves, for a large part, independent of the injected flow rate. The stimulations also show some evidence that creeping could be a major source of deformation, if not the main one. The future EGS programme will have to drill wells in zones free of large faults to avoid poor hydraulic performance and inconvenience to the population.

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“…An excellent example for fragmented and faulted crust is the tectonically active extensional rift valley of the upper Rhine river area in Central Europe. Here, topographically generated pressure gradients between the graben and the graben shoulders induce fluid flow and fluid circulation with massive fault-related cross-formation flow (Trippler 1988;Prodhel et al 1995;Aquilina et al 2000). Other examples can be found in Haneberg et al (2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large‐scale chemical stratification of fluids in the crust: hydraulic and chemical data from the geothermal research site Urach, Germany

Bucher

Stober

2016

Geofluids

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The Urach 3 research borehole in SW Germany has been drilled through a sedimentary cover sequence and reached gneisses of the Variscan crystalline basement at 1604 m below surface. An additional 2840 m has been drilled through fractured basement rocks. The borehole has been used for hydraulic tests in the context of a ‘hot dry rock’ (HDR) project. The sedimentary cover ranges from the Carboniferous to the Middle Jurassic (Dogger) in age and comprises mostly clastic sediments in the Paleozoic and limestone and shale in the Mesozoic. Water composition data from 10 different depths include samples from all major lithological units. The total dissolved solids (TDS) increases from the surface to about 650 m where it reaches 4.1 g l−1 in Triassic limestone. In lower Triassic sandstones, TDS increases very sharply to 28.5 g l−1 and the water is saturated with pure CO2 gas. With increasing depth, TDS does not change much in the clastic sediments of the Permian and Carboniferous. The crystalline basement is marked by a very sharp increase in TDS to 55.5 g l−1 at about 1770 m depth. TDS increases within the basement to more than 78.5 g l−1 at about 3500 m depth. The data suggest that there is limited vertical chemical communication over long periods of time. The CO2 gas cap in the lower Triassic sandstones requires a gastight cover. The chemical stratification of the fluids relates to the permeability structure of the crust at the Urach site and fits well with hydraulic and thermal data from the site.

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Evolution of Fluid Circulation in the Rhine Graben: Constraints from the Chemistry of Present Fluids

Cited by 14 publications

References 24 publications

Porosity and fluid velocities in the upper continental crust (2 to 4 km) inferred from injection tests at the Soultz-sous-Forêts geothermal site

Porosity and fluid velocities in the upper continental crust (2 to 4 km) inferred from injection tests at the Soultz-sous-Forêts geothermal site

Seismic response of the fractured and faulted granite of Soultz-sous-Forêts (France) to 5 km deep massive water injections

Large‐scale chemical stratification of fluids in the crust: hydraulic and chemical data from the geothermal research site Urach, Germany

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