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Naturally occurring radionuclides and their geochemical interactions at a geothermal site in the North German Basin

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Abstract

The activities of the most common, naturally occurring radionuclides 238U, 226Ra, 210Pb, 228Ra, 228Th, and 40K were measured by gamma-ray spectrometry in samples from reservoir rocks, geothermal fluids, and mineral precipitates at the geothermal research site Groß Schönebeck (North German Basin). Results demonstrated that the specific activity of the reservoir rock is within the range of the mean concentration in the upper earth crust of <800 Bq/kg for 40K and <60 Bq/kg for radionuclides of the 238U and 232Th series, respectively. The geothermal fluid showed elevated activity concentrations (up to 100 Bq/l) for 226Ra, 210Pb, and 228Ra, as compared to concentrations found in natural groundwater. Their concentration in filter residues even increased up to 100 Bq/g. These residues contain predominantly two different mineral phases: a Sr-rich barite (Sr, BaSO4) and laurionite (PbOHCl), which both precipitate upon cooling from the geothermal fluid. Thereby they presumably enrich the radionuclides of Ra (by substitution of Ba) and Pb. Analysis of these precipitates further showed an increased 226Ra/228Ra ratio from around 1–1.7 during the initial months of fluid production indicating a change in fluid composition over time which can be explained by different contributions of stimulated reservoir rock areas to the overall produced fluid.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge Elvira Feldbusch and Carolin Zorn from GFZ and Christel Busse from BfS for collecting and preparation of samples. Many thanks also to Sabine Rauschenberg (TU Berlin) for CNS and Rudolf Naumann from GFZ for XRD analysis. We also like to thank Guido Blöcher for providing hydraulic data. The current research was financed by the Federal Ministry of Science and Education (BMBF) within the project GeoEn.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473, Potsdam, Germany

    Simona Regenspurg

  2. Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Köpenicker Allee 120-130, 10318, Berlin, Germany

    Jörg Dilling, Jürgen Mielcarek & Uwe-Karsten Schkade

  3. Federal Institute for Geosciences and Raw Materials (BGR), Stilleweg 2, 30655, Hannover, Germany

    Frank Korte

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  1. Simona Regenspurg
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  2. Jörg Dilling
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  4. Frank Korte
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  5. Uwe-Karsten Schkade
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Correspondence to Simona Regenspurg.

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Regenspurg, S., Dilling, J., Mielcarek, J. et al. Naturally occurring radionuclides and their geochemical interactions at a geothermal site in the North German Basin. Environ Earth Sci 72, 4131–4140 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3306-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3306-6

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