Geological, geochemical and geophysical studies on the non-volcanic hot springs, Atri and Tarbalo in the Indian shield: potential unconventional renewable energy sources

Author(s):  
Asmita Maitra ◽  
Saibal Gupta ◽  
Anand Singh ◽  
Tirumalesh Kessari

<p>In the fast-growing economies around the world, the demand for energy as well as environmental concerns make geothermal energy a potential renewable energy source. Most geothermal provinces across the world have the capacity to generate enormous amounts of hydrothermal energy, and hot springs in these areas are generally associated with active volcanic or tectonic activity. With modern technical advancement, low enthalpy geothermal systems (< 100°C) are also being considered for geothermal energy production. In non-volcanic hot springs, the water temperature remains low compared to volcanic hot springs. We study two such hot springs located within Neoproterozoic granulites of the tectonically stable Eastern Ghats Belt (EGB) of the Indian shield. The source of heat for these amagmatic hot springs may either be deep-seated fracture zones, or alternative heat sources at shallow crustal levels. A combination of geological, geochemical, hydrological and geophysical techniques has been applied to characterize non-volcanic hot springs in India. The hot springs at Atri and Tarbalo are located to the south of the Mahanadi Shear Zone within the EGB. Penetrative granulite facies planar structural fabrics in rocks of the northern EGB are reoriented within an E-W striking, northerly dipping ductile shear zone that is subsequently dissected by WNW-ESE trending, sub-vertical pseudotachylite-bearing faults and fractures. Tube and dug wells around the shear zone yield both hot (~ 60°C) and cold (~ 28°C) water, sometimes spatially only 20 metres apart. Chemical analyses indicate both have distinct compositions, with hot waters rich in Na<sup>+</sup>, K<sup>+</sup> and Cl<sup>-</sup> while cold-waters have higher Ca<sup>2+</sup> and HCO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup> concentration. Stable isotope analyses (δ<sup>2</sup>H and δ<sup>18</sup>O) of both waters indicate that both are meteoric in origin. Tritium (<sup>3</sup>H) and <sup>14</sup>C analyses indicate that hot spring waters are much older than the non-thermal groundwater. The hot water is 17714 years old, while the non-thermal groundwater indicates modern day recharge. This suggests that both waters come from different reservoirs. VLF-electromagnetic studies indicate that water exists in isolated pockets beneath the crystalline country rocks, but also circulated through WNW-ESE trending fracture systems. Heat production studies reveal that the EGB is a high radiation zone, and some host rocks have exceptionally high heat producing element (HPE) concentrations (primarily thorium) within the minerals monazite and thorite. Hence, meteoric water is entrapped in those “perched aquifers” near HPE-rich pockets for a long duration and has sufficient time to undergo radiogenic heating, shielded from the non-thermal groundwater circulating within the fracture system. These isolated pockets act as sources for the hot springs,with HPE being the source of heat. The high HPE distribution in the crust resulting from Neoproterozoic geological events has, thus, elevated the present-day equilibrium geotherm in the EGB, forming sources for shallow-level, non-volcanic hot springs within a tectonically inactive terrane. Therefore, the hot springs in these regions, as well as the hot dry rocks of these areas can be considered as potential geothermal resources.</p>

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
ines freyssinel

<p>In Geology, water plays a major role in the transformation of landscapes. Hot water springs can be exploited as geothermic resources. The first forms of life on Earth, cyanobacteria, lived in water. I studied these three examples with my students, implementing various educational strategies: field trips, academic conferences, and hands-on activities.</p><p>Example 1-Fields trips<br>In Marseille, I organised a geological outing in the Calanques, the protected rocky coves, which explains the geological history of the region as well and erosion and sedimentation phenomena. The Calanques are made of limestone rocks that were formed by the accumulation of marine organism skeletons at the bottom of a warm sea during the Secondary Era. During the Cretaceous period, the calcareous rocks were pushed to the surface through the tectonic trust and overlapping of the African and European plates. The topography formed (The Provencal and Pyrenean chain and its foothills) undergoes weathering, fractures and distorts under the action of water. The hot rainy periods allow chemical dissolution and facilitates the formation of karstic networks. The periods of glaciation during the quaternary provoke declining water levels and sculpted furthermore the ground thanks to glacial action. <br><br>In Eastern Africa, in Djibouti, exceptional field trips were possible with the students  to the sites of the Assal-Goubbhet lake. It is a place like no other, a large depression 150 meters under the sea level.We studied the specific hydrological exchanges which explain the water hypersalinization. We measured the elevated thermal flows of the hot-water springs and linked our findings to tectonic activity. <br><br>Example 2 - Lab activity with stromatolites.</p><p>Water and the first Life forms.The 3.5 billion year stromatolites are bio-constructed and sedimentary rocks. They bear witness to the presence of life forms in the oceans, cyanobacteria. An exploration of the terrain and a practical session enabled the students to discover the action of these living organisms on the primal atmosphere and grasp the concept of Actualism in Geology. <br><br>Example 3 - Conference, field trip, and practical activities on geothermal activity.</p><p>Djibouti aims to become self-sufficient in energy by 2035 thanks to the production of 100% renewable electricity. The country relies on geothermal energy to reach that goal. We therefore studied this theme with the students of the French Highschool. Outings permitted to photograph the hot springs. Rain water infiltrates the ground and heats when in contact with the magma chambers less than 4 km under our feet. Through rock crack cause by earthquakes, the water comes to the surface in the form of steam and concentrates in the hot springs.</p><p>These examples remind our students of the essential role of water on our planet and its unequal distribution as a source of life, as a factor in the transformation of the landscapes or as a vital energy source. <br><br></p>


Author(s):  
Muhammad Afzal Jamali ◽  
Muhammad Hassan Agheem ◽  
Akhtar Hussain Markhand ◽  
Shahid Ali Shaikh ◽  
Asfand Yar Wali Arain ◽  
...  

Geothermal water is increasingly used around the world for its exploitation. Bulk electrical resistivity differences can bring significant information on variation of subsurface geothermal aquifer characteristics. The electrical resistivity survey was carried out in Laki range in lower Indus basin in the study area to explore the subsurface geothermal aquifers. The Schlumberger electrode configuration with range from 2 m to 220 m depth was applied. Three prominent locations of hot springs were selected including Laki Shah Saddar, Lalbagh and Kai hot spring near Sehwan city. After processing resistivity image data, two hot water geothermal aquifers were delineated at Laki Shah Sadder hot springs. The depth of first aquifer was 56 m and its thickness 38 m in the limestones. The depth of second aquifer of 190 m and with thickness of 96 m hosted in limestone. In Lalbagh hot springs two geothermal aquifers were delineated on the basis of apparent resistivity contrast, the depth of first aquifer zone in sandstone was in sandstone 15 m and thickness 12 m, while the depth of second aquifer was 61m and thickness was 35m. In Kai hot springs two hot water geothermal aquifers were delineated. The depth of first geothermal aquifer was 21m and thickness was 18 m and the depth of second aquifer was 105 m and thickness was 61m present in sandstone lithology. Present work demonstrates the capability of electrical resistivity images to study the potential of geothermal energy in shallow aquifers. These outcomes could potentially lead to a number of practical applications, such as the monitoring or the design of shallow geothermal systems.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maitrayee Chakraborty ◽  
Sayan Biswas ◽  
Nandini Sengupta ◽  
Pulak Sengupta

Metamorphic florencite is being reported from kyanite-rich rocks from the eastern part of the Palaeo- to Mesoproterozoic Singhbhum shear zone. This is the first report of florencite from the Precambrian rocks of the Indian Shield. Host rock of florencite is a kyanite-rich rock (>80  vol%) with small and variable amounts of quartz, lazulite, augelite, and rutile. Florencite forms small (<20 microns) idioblastic-to-subhedral crystals that are included in large kyanite grains. Rarely, florencite replaces kyanite. The florencite has small proportion of crandallite (8.7–11.8 mol%) and goyazite (<2 mol%) components. Florencite of this study is dominated by Ce (~49 mol%) with significant La (~30 mol%) and Nd (~21 mol%). Compared to other florencite occurrences of the world, florencite of the studied rock is impoverished in S, Sr, and Ba and rich in P. Stability of the assemblage florencite-kyanite-augelite-lazulite and the quantitative thermobarometry in the adjoining rocks suggest that florencite was formed during Palaeoproterozoic metamorphism that culminated at the P-T range of 490±40∘C and 6.3±1 kbar. Integrating all the geological features it is postulated that florencite was formed due to metasomatism of some aluminous protolith by infiltration of acidic fluids charged with PO4-3 and LREE.


2014 ◽  
pp. 92-105
Author(s):  
P. Bezrukikh ◽  
P. Bezrukikh (Jr.)

The article analyzes the dynamics of consumption of primary energy and production of electrical energy in the world for 1973-2012 and the volume of renewable energy. It is shown that in the crisis year of 20 0 9 there was a significant reduction in primary energy consumption and production of electrical energy. At the same time, renewable energy has developed rapidly, well above the rate of the world economy growth. The development of renewable energy is one of the most effective ways out of the crisis, taking into account its production regime, energy, environmental, social and economic efficiency. The forecast for the development of renewable energy for the period up to 2020, compiled by the IEA, is analyzed. It is shown that its assessment rates are conservative; the authors justify higher rates of development of renewable energy.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-17
Author(s):  
I. David ◽  
M. Visescu

Abstract Geothermal energy source is the heat from the Earth, which ranges from the shallow ground (the upper 100 m of the Earth) to the hot water and hot rock which is a few thousand meters beneath the Earth's surface. In both cases the so-called open systems for geothermal energy resource exploitation consist of a groundwater production well to supply heat energy and an injection well to return the cooled water, from the heat pump after the thermal energy transfer, in the underground. In the paper an analytical method for a rapid estimation of the ground water flow direction effect on the coupled production well and injection well system will be proposed. The method will be illustrated with solutions and images for representative flow directions respect to the axis of the production/injection well system.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4284
Author(s):  
Min-Hwi Kim ◽  
Youngsub An ◽  
Hong-Jin Joo ◽  
Dong-Won Lee ◽  
Jae-Ho Yun

Due to increased grid problems caused by renewable energy systems being used to realize zero energy buildings and communities, the importance of energy sharing and self-sufficiency of renewable energy also increased. In this study, the energy performance of an energy-sharing community was investigated to improve its energy efficiency and renewable energy self-sufficiency. For a case study, a smart village was selected via detailed simulation. In this study, the thermal energy for cooling, heating, and domestic hot water was produced by ground source heat pumps, which were integrated with thermal energy storage (TES) with solar energy systems. We observed that the ST system integrated with TES showed higher self-sufficiency with grid interaction than the PV and PVT systems. This was due to the heat pump system being connected to thermal energy storage, which was operated as an energy storage system. Consequently, we also found that the ST system had a lower operating energy, CO2 emissions, and operating costs compared with the PV and PVT systems.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 820-834
Author(s):  
Jun Ma ◽  
Zhifang Zhou

Abstract The exploration of the origin of hot spring is the basis of its development and utilization. There are many low-medium temperature hot springs in Nanjing and its surrounding karst landform areas, such as the Tangshan, Tangquan, Lunshan, and Xiangquan hot springs. This article discusses the origin characters of the Lunshan hot spring with geological condition analysis, hydrogeochemical data, and isotope data. The results show that the hot water is SO4–Ca type in Lunshan area, and the cation content of SO4 is high, which are related to the deep hydrogeological conditions of the circulation in the limestone. Carbonate and anhydrite dissolutions occur in the groundwater circulation process, and they also dominate the water–rock interaction processes in the geothermal reservoir of Lunshan. The hot water rising channels are deeply affected by the NW and SN faults. Schematic diagrams of the conceptual model of the geothermal water circulation in Lunshan are plotted. The origin of Tangshan, Tangquan, and Xiangquan hot springs are similar to the Lunshan hot spring. In general, the geothermal water in karst landforms around Nanjing mainly runs through the carbonate rock area and is exposed near the core of the anticlinal structure of karst strata, forming SO4–Ca/SO4–Ca–Mg type hot spring with the water temperature less than 60°C. The characters of the hot springs around Nanjing are similar, which are helpful for the further research, development, and management of the geothermal water resources in this region.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2134
Author(s):  
Luka Boban ◽  
Dino Miše ◽  
Stjepan Herceg ◽  
Vladimir Soldo

With the constant increase in energy demand, using renewable energy has become a priority. Geothermal energy is a widely available, constant source of renewable energy that has shown great potential as an alternative source of energy in achieving global energy sustainability and environment protection. When exploiting geothermal energy, whether is for heating or cooling buildings or generating electricity, a ground heat exchanger (GHE) is the most important component, whose performance can be easily improved by following the latest design aspects. This article focuses on the application of different types of GHEs with attention directed to deep vertical borehole heat exchangers and direct expansion systems, which were not dealt with in detail in recent reviews. The article gives a review of the most recent advances in design aspects of GHE, namely pipe arrangement, materials, and working fluids. The influence of the main design parameters on the performance of horizontal, vertical, and shallow GHEs is discussed together with commonly used performance indicators for the evaluation of GHE. A survey of the available literature shows that thermal performance is mostly a point of interest, while hydraulic and/or economic performance is often not addressed, potentially resulting in non-optimal GHE design.


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