Reservoir Studies of the Seltjarnarnes Geothermal Field, Iceland

The Seltjarnarnes geothermal field in Iceland has been exploited for space heating for the last 16 years. A model of the field has been developed that integrates all available data. The model has been calibrated against the flow rate and pressure decline histories of the wells and the temperature and chemical changes of the produced fluids. This has allowed for the estimation of the permeability and porosity distribution of the system, and the volume of the hot reservoir. Predictions of future reservoir behavior using the model suggest small pressure and temperature changes, but a continuous increase in the salinity of the fluids produced. 10 figs., 23 refs

Integrated TEM, XRD and electron-microprobe investigation of mixed-layer chlorite smectite from the Point-Sal ophiolite, California

Five basalt samples from the Point Sal ophiolite, California, were examined using HRTEM and AEM in order to compare observations with interpretations of XRD patterns and microprobe analyses. XRD data from ethylene-glycol-saturated samples indicate the following percentages of chlorite in mixed-layer chlorite-smectite identified for each specimen: (i) L2036 almost-equal-to 50%, (ii) L2035 almost-equal-to 70 and 20%, (iii) 1A-13 almost-equal-to 70%, (iv) 1B-42 almost-equal-to 70%, and (v) 1B-55 = 100%. Detailed electron microprobe analyses show that 'chlorite' analyses with high Si, K, Na and Ca contents are the result of interlayering with smectite-like layers. The Fe/(Fe + Mg) ratios of mixed-layer phyllosilicates from Point Sal samples are influenced by the bulk rock composition, not by the percentage of chlorite nor the structure of the phyllosilicate. Measurements of lattice-fringe images indicate that both smectite and chlorite layers are present in the Point Sal samples in abundances similar to those predicted with XRD techniques and that regular alternation of chlorite and smectite occurs at the unit-cell scale. Both 10- and 14-angstrom layers were recorded with HRTEM and interpreted to be smectite and chlorite, respectively. Regular alternation of chlorite and smectite (24-angstrom periodicity) occurs in upper lava samples L2036 and 1A-13, and lower lava sample 1B-42 for as many as seven alternations per crystallite with local layer mistakes. Sample L2035 shows disordered alternation of chlorite and smectite, with juxtaposition of smectite-like layers, suggesting that randomly interlayered chlorite (< 0.5)-smectite exists. Images of lower lava sample 1B-55 show predominantly 14-angstrom layers. Units of 24 angstrom tend to cluster in what may otherwise appear to be disordered mixtures, suggesting the existence of a corrensite end-member having thermodynamic significance

Differential Absorption Lidar Mapping of Atmospheric Atomic Mercury In Italian Geothermal Fields

Results from extensive lidar measurements on atmospheric atomic mercury in Italian geothermal fields are reported. A mobile differential absorption lidar system operating on the 254-nm mercury resonance line with a measuring range of about 1 km was used in mineralized as well as nonmineralized areas. Measurements were performed at geothermal power stations and in an unexploited field with natural surface geothermic manifestations. Atomic mercury concentrations ranging from 2 to 1000 ng/m3 were mapped. The high Italian geothermal mercury concentrations are in strong contrast to the recent lidar finding of the absence of atomic mercury in Icelandic geothermal fields