Abstract
High-temperature geothermal systems are widely used to produce electricity and reduce atmospheric carbon emissions. The Zhaxikang geothermal field, located in the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau, is a typical high-temperature geothermal field related to the orogenic rift system. The hydrochemical type of the hot springs is predominantly HCO3–Cl–Na. In this study, the primary hydrochemical processes, including mixing and degassing, were identified and qualified based on hydrogeochemical and isotopic data. The results indicate that the deep geothermal fluid consists of meteoric water (80%) mixed with magmatic water (20%). Mixing with magmatic water and weak water–rock interactions might be responsible for the inapparent oxygen isotope shift. Comprehensive analyses of the Na–K and quartz geothermometers, the Na–K–Ca ternary diagram, as well as the enthalpy–silica and enthalpy–chloride mixing model yield reliable temperature estimates ranging from 180 to 210 °C. The equilibrium temperature of the multi-minerals converges at a narrow range from 185 to 205 °C, which was determined using geothermometrical modeling after correcting for the dilution and degassing processes. Different degrees of CO2 degassing (0.1–0.7 mol/L) were identified during the upward migration of the geothermal fluid through geothermometrical modeling. The SiO2 concentration (292 mg/L) and chloride concentration (490 mg/L) of the deep geothermal fluid under the Zhaxikang geothermal field were estimated through a comprehensive analysis of the enthalpy–silica and enthalpy–chloride diagrams, respectively.
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[(Modified from Yin et al. (2014)]
[modified from Li (2015)]
[After Giggenbach (1988)]
[After Truesdell and Fournier (1977)]
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China’s project: Nos. 41907174, 42002300, the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2018YFC0406506) Open Fund (PLC2020032) of State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation (Chengdu University of Technology), China Geological Survey’s project: DD20211381 the Central Public‒interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund (Y519002), and the Natural Science Foundation of China’s project: No. 41502245. We also thank the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the improvement of the original manuscript.
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Yingchun Wang and Hongyu Gu are the co-first authors.
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Wang, Y., Gu, H., Li, D. et al. Hydrochemical characteristics and genesis analysis of geothermal fluid in the Zhaxikang geothermal field in Cuona County, southern Tibet. Environ Earth Sci 80, 415 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-09577-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-09577-8