The Moana geothermal system in Reno, Nevada: A hydrologic, geochemical, and thermal analysis
The Moana geothermal systems, located in Reno, Nevada, is a moderate-temperature geothermal resource used for space heating applications. Both historic and new hydrologic, thermal, and groundwater chemistry data were collected to evaluate the Moana system and to develop a calibrated numerical model of the geothermal aquifer for investigation of resource development scenarios. The new data collection consisted of static water level measurements and temperature with depth measurements for a 13-month period at 26 geothermal wells to investigate hydrologic and thermal changes with time. In addition, groundwater chemistry sampling at 10 wells was used to evaluate mixing of thermal and nonthermal waters. Collected information indicates that in the most heavily used portion of the geothermal aquifer, the hydraulic heads have declined. This decline may induce additional leakage of cooler water from the overlying unconfined aquifer and lead to decreased temperatures at well locations in the geothermal aquifer. The groundwater chemistry data show concentration changes with temperature for boron, chloride, fluoride, lithium, and bicarbonate that are a function of the degree of mixing of thermal and nonthermal waters. Temporal changes in these constituents may be used as an indication of relative temperature changes in the geothermal system caused by mixing at a given location. An attempt was made to use the hydraulic head and maximum temperature data to develop a calibrated numerical model for the Moana geothermal system. However, lack of information about the horizontal and vertical thermal and fluid fluxes made the development of a calibrated model not possible at this time. 25 refs., 54 figs., 6 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Nevada Univ., Reno, NV (USA). Water Resources Center
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG07-88ID12757
- OSTI ID:
- 5606420
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ID/12757-1; ON: DE91013155
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Publication No. 41131
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
GEOTHERMAL FIELDS
THERMAL ANALYSIS
GEOTHERMAL FLUIDS
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
BORON
CHLORIDES
COMPILED DATA
FLUORIDES
GEOLOGIC MODELS
GEOTHERMAL WELLS
HEAT TRANSFER
LITHIUM
MEASURING METHODS
RESERVOIR PRESSURE
SPACE HEATING
WATER CHEMISTRY
ALKALI METALS
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMISTRY
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
DATA
ELEMENTS
ENERGY TRANSFER
FLUIDS
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HEATING
INFORMATION
METALS
NUMERICAL DATA
SEMIMETALS
WELLS
Geothermal Legacy
150200* - Geology & Hydrology of Geothermal Systems
150904 - Geothermal Engineering- Geothermal Reservoir & Well Performance