Approach to problems of a geothermal mercury survey, Puna, Hawaii

Conference · Thu Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1981 · Trans. - Geotherm. Resour. Counc.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6741488

Cox, M E

Concentrations of soil mercury of 15 to 1250 ppB were determined in the Puna geothermal area on the lower east rift zone of Kilauea volcano. As the area is young and volcanically active a wide range of soils exist. Hg concentrations are partly controlled by such factors as soil development and organic content, which tend to complicate interpretation of the absolute concentrations measured. The pH of both ground gas and soil may also influence transport and fixation of the Hg, and some low pH soils may be due to SO/sub 2/ and CO/sub 2/ in ground gas. By relating the Hg concentration of the samples to the background concentration for different soil types these influences can be significantly reduced, producing results that better reflect the geothermal component of Hg to the soil. The major difficulty in using this approach in an area with marked variations in soil type is in determining the background concentrations and in the classification of the soil types.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu
• OSTI ID: 6741488
• Report Number(s): CONF-811015-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Trans. - Geotherm. Resour. Counc.; (United States) Journal Volume: 5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
150302* -- Geothermal Exploration & Exploration Technology-- Geochemical Techniques & Surveys
ABUNDANCE
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
ELEMENTS
FEDERAL REGION IX
GEOCHEMICAL SURVEYS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
HAWAII
KILAUEA VOLCANO
MERCURY
METALS
NORTH AMERICA
RIFT ZONES
SOILS
SURFACES
SURVEYS
USA
VOLCANOES