Publication Date:
2022-10-26
Description:
Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2021. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 126(5),(2021): e2020JB021098, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JB021098.
Description:
We report results from 149 heat flux measurements made over an ∼2-year interval at sites in and around a vapor-dominated geothermal field located at water depths of ∼100–120 m in Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming. Measurements of both in situ temperature and thermal conductivity as a function of depth were made with a 1 m probe via a remotely operated vehicle, and are combined to compute the vertical conductive heat flux. Inside the ∼55.5 × 103 m2 bathymetric depression demarcating the vapor-dominated field, the median conductive flux is 13 W m−2, with a conductive output of 0.72 MW. Outside the thermal field, the median conductive flux is 3.5 W m−2. We observed 49 active vents inside the thermal field, with an estimated mass discharge rate of 56 kg s−1, a median exit-fluid temperature of 132°C, and a total heat output of 29 MW. We find evidence for relatively weak secondary convection with a total output of 0.09 MW in thermal area lake floor sediments. Our data indicate that vapor beneath the thermal field is trapped by a low-permeability cap at a temperature of ∼189°C and a depth of ∼15 m below the lake floor. The thermal output of the Deep Hole is among the highest of any vapor-dominated field in Yellowstone, due in part to the high boiling temperatures associated with the elevated lake floor pressures.
Description:
This work was funded by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) grants EAR-1515283 to R. N. Harris and J. E. Favorito, EAR-1516361 to R. A. Sohn, and EAR-1514865 to K. M. Luttrell All work in Yellowstone National Park was completed under research permit (YELL-2018-SCI-7018) and the authors thank Annie Carlson from the Yellowstone Center for Resources for logistical help.
Description:
2021-11-14
Keywords:
Geothermal systems
;
Heat flow
;
Lacustrine
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Article
Permalink
