Methodology for the Study of Unexploited Aquifers with Thermal Waters: Application to the Aquifer of the Alhama de Aragon Hot Springs

Sanz, Eugenio; Yélamos, Javier G.

doi:10.1111/j.1745-6584.1998.tb02098.x

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Other studies focus on the occurrence of hot springs in regional flow systems influenced by thermal effects such as the famous springs at Bath, England (Andrews et al 1982; Atkinson and Davison 2002); hot springs in Japan (Yuhara et al 1989), Hungary (Alfoldi et al 1985), Switzerland (Bodmer and Rybach 1985), Spain (Sanz and Yelamos 1998; Sanchez‐Navarro et al 2004), and in the Valley and Ridge Province of the United States (Hobba et al 1979). In a typical conceptual model, ground water flows deep into the basin where it is heated and then flows back to the surface to discharge in hot springs.…”

Section: Basin‐scale Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat as a Ground Water Tracer

2005

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Heat carried by ground water serves as a tracer to identify surface water infiltration, flow through fractures, and flow patterns in ground water basins. Temperature measurements can be analyzed for recharge and discharge rates, the effects of surface warming, interchange with surface water, hydraulic conductivity of streambed sediments, and basin-scale permeability. Temperature data are also used in formal solutions of the inverse problem to estimate ground water flow and hydraulic conductivity. The fundamentals of using heat as a ground water tracer were published in the 1960s, but recent work has significantly expanded the application to a variety of hydrogeological settings. In recent work, temperature is used to delineate flows in the hyporheic zone, estimate submarine ground water discharge and depth to the salt-water interface, and in parameter estimation with coupled ground water and heat-flow models. While short reviews of selected work on heat as a ground water tracer can be found in a number of research papers, there is no critical synthesis of the larger body of work found in the hydrogeological literature. The purpose of this review paper is to fill that void and to show that ground water temperature data and associated analytical tools are currently underused and have not yet realized their full potential.

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Section: Basin‐scale Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat as a Ground Water Tracer

2005

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“…(Markovich et al, 2019;Condon et al, 2020). Studies that provide some constraint on the depth of active circulation are reviewed by Manning and Caine (2007), Welch and Allen (2014), and Markovich et al (2019), and can be broadly categorized into three types: (1) studies using hydraulic, chemical, and environmental tracer (mainly groundwater age) data from tunnels and mines (e.g., Mayo et al, 2003;Marechal and Etchevery, 2003;Tomanaga et al, 2017); 2studies using geothermometry and temperature data from open boreholes and springs, along with coupled heat and fluid flow modeling (e.g., Sanz and Yelamos, 1998;Saar and Manga, 2004;Manning and Caine, 2007;Frisbee et al, 2017); and (3) studies using surface geophysical surveys, in some cases coupled with borehole geophysical and fracture data (e.g., Robinson et al, 1974;McClymont et al, 2012;St. Clair et al, 2015;Flinchum et al, 2018;.…”

Section: Accepted Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies that provide some constraint on the depth of active circulation are reviewed by Manning and Caine (2007), Welch and Allen (2014), and Markovich et al. (2019), and can be broadly categorized into three types: (1) studies using hydraulic, chemical, and environmental tracer (mainly groundwater age) data from tunnels and mines (e.g., Marechal and Etchevery, 2003; Mayo et al., 2003; Tomanaga et al., 2017); (2) studies using geothermometry and temperature data from open boreholes and springs, along with coupled heat and fluid flow modeling (e.g., Frisbee et al., 2017; Manning & Caine, 2007; Saar & Manga, 2004; Sanz & Yelamos, 1998); and (3) studies using surface geophysical surveys, in some cases coupled with borehole geophysical and fracture data (e.g., Flinchum et al., 2018, 2019; McClymont et al., 2012; Robinson et al., 1974; St. Clair et al., 2015). These previous studies have contributed valuable insights into possible active circulation depths in different geologic settings, but the reliability of reported or inferred active circulation depths are limited by several factors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Direct Observation of the Depth of Active Groundwater Circulation in an Alpine Watershed

Manning

Ball

Wanty

et al. 2021

Water Resources Research

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The depth of active groundwater circulation is a fundamental control on stream flows and chemistry in mountain watersheds, yet it remains challenging to characterize and is rarely well constrained. We collected hydraulic conductivity, hydraulic head, temperature, chemical, noble gas, and 3H/3He groundwater age data from discrete levels in two boreholes 46 and 81 m deep in an alpine watershed, in combination with chemical and age data from shallow groundwater discharge, to discern groundwater flow rates at different depths and directly observe active and inactive groundwater. Vertical head gradients are steep (average of 0.4) and thermal profiles are consistent with typical linear conductive continental geotherms. Groundwater deeper than ∼20 m is distinct from shallow groundwater and creek water in its chemistry, noble gas signature, and age (dominantly >65 years compared to <9 years). Together these results suggest low vertical groundwater flow velocities and a relatively shallow active circulation depth of ∼20 m. This hypothesis is tested with a simple 2‐D numerical fluid flow and heat transport model representing a hillslope transect through the two boreholes. The modeling indicates that the subhorizontally bedded sedimentary rocks underlying the basin are highly anisotropic with low vertical hydraulic conductivity, and at most ∼10% of bedrock recharge (equivalent to <2% of stream baseflow) flows below a depth of 20 m. The study demonstrates the considerable value of discrete‐depth hydrogeologic, chemical, and age data for determining active circulation depth, and illustrates an approach for maximizing the utility of individual boreholes drilled for mountain bedrock aquifer characterization.

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“…() argued that the gradient may well have been higher. However, today measured gradients are in order of 3 °C per 100 m (Sanz & Yélamos, ). Therefore, a considerable cooling process has taken place, most likely during the uplift phase that started ca .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Clay mineral occurrence and burial transformations: reservoir potential of the Permo‐Triassic sediments of the Iberian Range

et al. 2014

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The diagenetic evolution of Permian (Autunian and Saxonian) and Triassic (Buntsandstein) sandstones and mudrocks have been studied over 1000 m sequence from the Sigüenza 44‐3 drill core in the Iberian Range, Spain. We compare and contrast the diagenetic processes in these different lithologies and the timing of clay mineral formation. Moreover, we establish the relationship between clay mineral diagenesis and reservoir potential. Both the Permian and Triassic successions are characterised by conglomerates, sandstones and interbedded mudstones of fluvial origin that change upwards into distal deposits of a fluvio‐deltaic system. The clay minerals are illite, illite‐smectite mixed layers, kaolinite and dickite. The illite content in all sequences is not related to diminished feldspars; it is owing to the initial detrital mineralogical composition of the Autunian sandstones. The effect of feldspar alteration to kaolin minerals has a strong influence on the lost of porosity‐permeability in the Saxonian facies. In contrast, illite and mixed layers illite‐smectite are the main clay rims preserving porosity in the Buntsandstein sandstones. However, fibrous illite is the dominant pore‐filling in the Permian Autunian facies, closing porosity and permeability. Kaolinite and dickite show opposite trends: dickite increases yet kaolinite decreases from Triassic to Permian sandstones. Dickite replaced kaolinite during burial‐thermal evolution of the succession. The δD and δ18O isotopic signatures from silt and clay fractions indicate a mixture of meteoric and marine waters, and suggest a minimum temperature range between 60 and 150 °C for diagenetic pore fluids. The Permian δD values (−24‰ to −44‰) are relatively similar to Buntsandstein values (−24‰ to −37‰). However, the Permian δ18O values (+7.6 and +15.3, average of +13.3‰) are generally higher by ca. 6.2‰ compared to the Buntsandstein data (4.8–10.1‰, average +7.1‰). Such a variation is interpreted as the result of mesodiagenetic pore fluid changes. The extensive dickitisation of kaolinite is attributed to increased hydrogen ions resulting from maturation of organic matter. The vitrinite reflectance of organic matter and the modelled thermal history suggest a maximum burial of 3400 m, accomplished 70 Ma ago. The Permo‐Triassic reached the gas window shortly before major uplift, at 65 Ma, when further maturation and hydrocarbon expulsion ceased.

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Methodology for the Study of Unexploited Aquifers with Thermal Waters: Application to the Aquifer of the Alhama de Aragon Hot Springs

Cited by 14 publications

References 7 publications

Heat as a Ground Water Tracer

Heat as a Ground Water Tracer

Direct Observation of the Depth of Active Groundwater Circulation in an Alpine Watershed

Clay mineral occurrence and burial transformations: reservoir potential of the Permo‐Triassic sediments of the Iberian Range

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