The impact of secondary mineral formation on Na-K-geothermometer readings: a case study for the Valley of Geysers hydrothermal system (Kronotsky State Nature Biosphere Reserve, Kamchatka)

Abstract

The temperature in the Valley of Geysers (Kamchatka) geothermal reservoir calculated using the feldspar Na-K-geothermometer has been steadily increasing over the past 10 years on average from 165 to 235 °C, which is close to the temperature values of a hydrothermal explosion of the steam and water mixture. For the analysis of chemical geothermometers, TOUGHREACT-simulation was used, with the help of which the previously known Na-K feldspar geothermometer was reproduced on a single-element model and new formulas were obtained for three Na-K geothermometers: zeolite, smectite, and based on volcanic glass. Data of chemical analysis for the period 1968-2018, in which the chloride ion is considered as an inert tracer of geofiltration processes, indicates that after 2007 a significant inflow of infiltration water (its mass fraction is estimated from 5 to 15 %) into the Geyser reservoir. It is assumed that the Na-K increased values of the feldspar geothermometer are not the result of the temperature increase in the Geyser reservoir, but the effect of smectite water dilution.

Keywords

• toughreact-simulation
• valley of geysers
• geothermometers
• zeolites
• montmorillonite
• geothermal reservoir
• volcanic glass