Hydrothermal alteration at Roosevelt Hot Springs KGRA: DDH 1976-1

Technical Report · Thu Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1977

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5815782· OSTI ID:5815782

Bryant, N L; Parry, W T

Hot waters of the Roosevelt Thermal Area, Utah, have altered granitic rocks and detritus of the Mineral Range pluton, Utah. Alteration and mineral deposition recognized in a 200' drill core from DDH 1-76 is most intense in the upper 100 feet which consists of altered alluvium and opal deposits; the lower 100 feet is weakly altered quartz monzonite. Petrographic, x-ray, and chemical methods were used to characterize systematic changes in chemistry and mineralogy. Comparison of the alteration mineral assemblages with known water chemistry and equilibrium activity diagrams suggests that a simple solution equilibrium model cannot account for the alteration. A model is proposed in which upward moving thermal water supersaturated with respect to quartz and a downward moving cool water undersaturated with respect to quartz produces the observed alteration. An estimate of the heat flow contributions from hydrothermal alteration was made by calculating reaction enthalpies for alteration reactions at each depth. The estimated heat flow varied from .02 HFU (for 200' depth, 400,000 yr duration, and no sulfur oxidation) to 67 HFU (for 5,000' depth, 1,000 yr duration, and all sulfur oxidized from sulfide). Heat flow contributions from hydrothermal alteration are comparable with those from a cooling granitic magma.

• Research Organization: Utah Univ., Salt Lake City (USA). Dept. of Geology and Geophysics
• OSTI ID: 5815782
• Report Number(s): IDO-1601-T8
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
150201* -- Geology & Hydrology of Geothermal Systems-- USA-- (-1989)
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS
ALUMINIUM COMPOUNDS
ALUMINIUM SILICATES
ALUMINIUM SULFATES
ALUNITE
ARGILLITE
BIOTITE
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMISTRY
CHLORITE MINERALS
CLAYS
DRILL CORES
GEOCHEMISTRY
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC MODELS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGY
GRANITES
Geothermal Legacy
HEAT FLOW
HYDROTHERMAL ALTERATION
IGNEOUS ROCKS
INORGANIC ION EXCHANGERS
ION EXCHANGE MATERIALS
IRON COMPOUNDS
IRON SILICATES
IRON SULFIDES
KAOLINITE
KGRA
MAGNESIUM COMPOUNDS
MAGNESIUM SILICATES
MICA
MINERALOGY
MINERALS
MONTMORILLONITE
MUSCOVITE
NORTH AMERICA
ORES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POTASSIUM COMPOUNDS
POTASSIUM SULFATES
PYRITE
PYRITES
QUARTZ
ROCKS
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
ROOSEVELT HOT SPRINGS
SILICATES
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SILICON OXIDES
SULFATES
SULFIDES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR ORES
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
USA
UTAH
VERMICULITE