Geothermal resource potential assessment of Erdaobaihe, Changbaishan volcanic field: Constraints from geophysics

Abstract

Geothermal resources occurring in the Changbaishan volcanic field are directly or indirectly controlled by volcanic activity and exhibit a close correlation with deep-seated faults. Energy and thermal transfer are generally controlled by groundwater circulation and hot gas emission. This article considers the detectability of hot water and gas by geophysical methods. The controlled source acoustic magnetotelluric (CSAMT) and radon (222Rn) gas methods give straightforward information on electrical resistivity and natural radon emissions, respectively, to assess the geothermal condition. The CSAMT method detected five-banded low-apparent resistivity bodies (decreasing from 3,000 to 300 Ωm), indicating that there exists a high degree of water-bearing capacities in the subsurface. The radon (222Rn) gas concentrations were monitored in two rapid growth zones: one zone showing values ranging from 3,000 to 23,000 Bq/m3, and the other with values from 4,000 to 24,000 Bq/m3. These changes demonstrate that the heat energies available in these areas were very high and that there is potential for geothermal resources in those zones. Combining with previously published data from geothermometry and geothermal drilling, we argue that there is great potential in Erdaobaihe for geothermal exploitation and that the geothermal resource type should be classified into uplift mountain geothermal system no magma type.

Assessment of geothermal resource potential in Changbaishan utilizing high-precision gravity-based man-machine interactive inversion technology

“…As the only active volcano in Changbaishan volcanic field, Tianchi volcano has shown huge potentials in geothermal resources (Zhang et al, 2018 ). More than 120 hot springs congregate around the Tianchi caldera (Xu et al, 2021 ). However, due to different control conditions of geothermal resources, uplift mountain or sedimentary basin geothermal systems show different geophysical anomaly (Zhang et al, 2018 ).…”

“…As the only active volcano in the Changbaishan Volcanic Group, Tianchi caldera is a promising geothermal resources (about 120 hot springs) (Zhang et al, 2018 ; Xu et al, 2021 ). Information on the geothermal system types, names, locations, coordinates, temperatures, and water yields are listed in Table 1 .…”

“…Changbaishan geothermal field is located in one of the active volcanoes in China ( Figure 1 ) (Cashman and Sparks, 2013 ; Sun et al, 2017 ; Xu et al, 2021 ). The proven and commercially viable geothermal resources have been explored and monitored by remote sensing or ground penetrating radar around Tianchi caldera ( Figure 2 ) (Qian et al, 2016 ; Tang et al, 2017 ).…”

“…However, these shallow subsurface geophysical methods can poorly penetrate the great thick cover of Quaternary Shied-forming basalts to effectively identify and detect the spatial distribution of heat source, geothermal reservoir and the migration pathway in depth. In order to address these issues, use of deep exploration geophysical methods such as gravity, electromagnetic, and seismic exploration which have been used traditionally to detect the spatial distribution of different geological bodies and boundaries can be effective (Gessner et al, 2016 ; Xu et al, 2019 , 2021 ). Another way is by exploring data-driven solutions, including data processing, modeling, inversion, detection, classification, and so on (Xu et al, 2021 ).…”

“…In order to address these issues, use of deep exploration geophysical methods such as gravity, electromagnetic, and seismic exploration which have been used traditionally to detect the spatial distribution of different geological bodies and boundaries can be effective (Gessner et al, 2016 ; Xu et al, 2019 , 2021 ). Another way is by exploring data-driven solutions, including data processing, modeling, inversion, detection, classification, and so on (Xu et al, 2021 ).…”