Publication Date:
2020-10-19
Description:
The chemical and isotopic features of the fluids (water and gases) in the Lucane thermal area (southern Italy)
have been investigated in order to verify their origin, water temperature in the geothermal reservoir, and to
recognize the main natural processes concerning the water composition during ascent towards the surface. The
Lucane geothermal system is placed in the southern sector of the Apennines chains, a seismically active area,
close to the southern base of the Mt. Alpi carbonate massif. Along the study area, two main sets of high-angle
faults form an almost orthogonal fault system that, as suggested by local structural geology, acts as a preferential
pathway for uprising deep fluids. Here, we recognized two different types of waters: (i) cold shallow waters
having a meteoritic origin and interacting with carbonate rocks (dolomite and calcite), whose dissolved gases
show a dominant atmospheric contribution and (ii) hypothermal waters (average temperature of 21 °C), having a
meteoritic origin and interacting with both carbonate rocks and inter-bedded evaporitic deposit. Geochemical
data allow estimating a geothermal reservoir temperature between 30 °C and 60 °C, according to silica and Ca/
Mg geothermometers, respectively. A heat discharge related to hypothermal groundwater flow between 7.75E
+06 and 2.00E+07 J/s was computed. δ18O and δ2Η data allowed recognizing a meteoric origin for hypothermal
(hereafter TL) waters, with mean recharge (infiltration) elevations between 1300 and 1700 m a.s.l.
These waters are gas-rich (e.g., CO2 and He), which amounts are higher than those in air-saturated water (ASW).
Carbon and helium isotope signature in the TL waters indicate their mainly crustal origin and involve a tectonic
control on fluid migration through the crust. Furthermore, we observe that the He isotopic signature in gases
dissolved in TL waters is stable over time and its monitoring could be a powerful tool to assess the seismogenetic
processes since their preparatory phases.
Description:
Published
Description:
106618
Description:
2T. Deformazione crostale attiva
Description:
JCR Journal
Keywords:
geochemistry
;
tectonics
;
geothermy
;
earthquakes
;
04. Solid Earth
Repository Name:
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
Type:
article
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