Mapping the spatial distribution of fossil geothermal manifestations and assessment of geothermal potential of the Tangyin rift, Southeast of Taihang Mountain in China

Abstract

The spatial prediction of geothermal sites along the southeast side of Taihang Mountain in the Tangyin rift is a critical goal in the development of renewable energy resources in cities such as Hebi in Henan province, which has significant potential for geothermal energy production due to the existence of deep faults and Cenozoic volcano. The study aimed to delineate areas with high geothermal manifestations for detailed geothermal exploration and well-test drilling. To define favorable zones for geothermal potentiality, multi-source datasets were chosen to generate evidence thematic layers that demonstrate the distribution of geothermal anomalies such as geologic maps, structural maps, Land Surface Temperature maps (LST), and hydrothermal mineral alterations maps. The remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) approaches were integrated to map fossil geothermal manifestations and appraise the promising geothermal zones from Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer-Digital Elevation Model (ASTER-DEM) dataset using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is one of the Mult-criteria Decision Making methods. Results show LST values ranging from 22.6°C to 45.4°C, with the highest values found along the faults and volcanic areas. The hydrothermal alteration minerals discriminated from band ratios of 4/2, 6/5, and 6/7 for iron oxide, ferrous minerals, and clays reveal the presence of high amount of montmorillonite and illite minerals along the faults and volcanoes which are related to hot fluid circulation from subsurface. Structural analysis shows that the major structural trend follows the NNE Tangdong and Tangxi faults, with high density on the west side of the Tangxi fault where there is good exposure of outcrop but less fault density on the east side due to sedimentation in a low land which may conceal geological structures. Lastly, all the thematic layers of geothermal factors were reclassified, ranked, and integrated by the weight overlay logic model based on the influence of geothermal suitability to map potential areas for geothermal resources whereby 5 zones were obtained ranging from very poor to very good. The promising potential sites are mostly found along the highly deep structures of the major Tangxi fault crosscutting the permeable lithology of carbonate rocks and around the Hebi volcanoes. The distribution of hot springs and geothermal wells of the Hebi field were correlated and verified against the potential geothermal anomalies map. The overall integrated method proposes an advanced technique for designing the Tangyin rift’s exploration plan and development actions for geothermal resources utilization, which can be used for exploration of any unveiling geothermal potential sites.

Volcano Geology Applications to Ancient Volcanism-Influenced Terrains: Paleovolcanism

“…The study of paleovolcanic terrains in terms of modern volcanology may also provide results that are quite helpful in the study of recent terrains with similar characteristics, where such processes may be inferred, yet not observed directly due to the lack of deep erosion and tectonics. Similarly, the exploration of high-enthalpy geothermal reservoirs in active volcanic areas can greatly benefit from the study of ancient analogs coming from deeply eroded volcanic terrains where the roots of the volcanic edifices are well exposed and the geometry and distribution of fossil geothermal reservoirs can be observed (e.g., [102][103][104]).…”

Machine Learning Techniques in Predicting Bottom Hole Temperature and Remote Sensing for Assessment of Geothermal Potential in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…Subsurface exploration techniques must adapt to rely less on surface geothermal features. It is crucial to incorporate accurate geological and geophysical data to delineate subsurface structural features when analyzing geothermal processes [14,32].…”

“…Therefore, worldwide researchers have suggested that Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques, including thermal bands on satellite images like Landsat−8 OLI/TIRS, be considered as valuable and cost-effective tools for evaluating geothermal resources. These methods estimate the land surface temperature (LST) and have been employed by researchers to delineate areas with geothermal potential in different geological settings [11][12][13][14].…”

Effect of Geometry and Number of Seismic Stations on Micro-Earthquake (MEQ) Hypocenters in Geothermal Fields

“…The existence of geothermal energy is generally found in the volcanic zone, which is a weak zone in geology (Cheng, 2022;Farhan et al, 2019;Geoffroy et al, 2022;Mahwa et al, 2022). In this zone, there are many faults formed due to geological activity (Geoffroy et al, 2022;Riziq Maulana et al, 2019;Zaini et al, 2022).…”