Two loud explosions accompanied by two successive big dark clouds that would have been 300 metres high, had taken place at El Humazo geothermal manifestation at February 2003. These explosions produced some important geomorphologic and structural changes that were registered in the geothermal area and its surroundings. Among these, it can be mentioned the reactivation of a geothermal manifestat...

The deliverability of liquid-dominated geothermal reservoirs is presented in terms of reservoir performance, and wellbore performance. Water influx modeling is used to match the performance of Wairakei in New Zealand, arid Ahuachapan in El Salvador. The inflow performance is given in terms of a linear productivity index for liquid-only flow, and a solution-gas drive relationship for two-phase f...

The decay kinetics of the candidate tracers 1naphthalene sulfonate and 2,6-naphthalene disulfonate was studied under laboratory conditions that simulate a hydrothermal environment. Neither of the naphthalene sulfonates exhibited any thermal decay after one week at 330C, indicating that they are suitable for use in geothermal settings having temperatures of 330C or hotter. Both tracers were succ...

The influence of the Cerro Prieto Geothermal Field (CPGF) on groundwater quality of the close-by agricultural area was evaluated by means of chemical and isotopic determinations. According to irrigation standards, concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, Crtot, Cr(VI), Cu, Cd, Hg, B in agricultural wells showed the suitability of the water for irrigation. Iron was below irrigation limits in all but one we...

Thioarsenates are common arsenic species in sulfidic geothermal waters, yet little is known about their biogeochemical traits. In the present study, a novel sulfate-reducing bacterial strain Desulfotomaculum TC-1 was isolated from a sulfidic hot spring in Tengchong geothermal area, Yunnan Province, China. The arxA gene, encoding anaerobic arsenite oxidase, was successfully amplified from the ge...

Substantial CO2 degassing occurs from geothermal waters in Turkey as evident from ongoing deposition of recent terrace travertines and emplacement of significant travertine vein and breccia deposits representing hydrothermal eruption products. Geochemical data indicate rapid ascent of CO2bearing fluids without significant interaction with basement and host rocks. High-precision U-series dates o...

This paper defines the maximum possible vertical extent of hydrothermal circulation in granitic crust, and thus the maximum depth within which geothermal reservoirs can be encountered. To evaluate prospective geothermal fields we constructed a geothermal database in northern Honshu, Japan that includes 571 points of thermal data of existing wells and hot springs. Depth-temperature curves were n...

The objective of this study is to develop a methodology and to create a tool for use in geothermal pipeline route selection. Special emphasis is placed on the method finding the shortest route and minimizing the visual affects of the pipeline. Among other constraints that can be incorporated into the method are: Type of flow regime, pressure drop, building costs, inaccessible areas and maximum ...

Engineered geothermal systems (EGS) present an opportunity to expand the implementation of geothermal power. There has been some interest in the possible application of CO2 as a heat extraction fluid in these systems instead of water, due to a variety of inherent benefits, including being a nonpolar fluid, low viscosity at the temperatures and pressures within the reservoir and a large buoyancy...

Geothermal Heat Pumps, or Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP), are systems combining a heat pump with a ground heat exchanger (closed loop systems), or fed by ground water from a well (open loop systems). They use the earth as a heat source when operating in heating mode, with a fluid (usually water or a water-antifreeze-mixture) as the media transferring the heat from the earth to the evaporator o...