Isotope and chemical geothermometry and its applications

• Published in: Science China. Technological sciences Vol. 44; no. S1; pp. 16 - 20
• Main Author: Pang, Zhonghe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Springer Nature B.V 2001
• Subjects: Aluminum; Degassing; Empirical equations; Equilibrium; Geotemperature; Geothermometers
• ISSN: 1006-9321; 1674-7321; 1862-281X; 1869-1900
• DOI: 10.1007/BF02916784

The Na−K−Mg Geoindicator created by Giggenbach (1988) is convenient to use but it is still based on the empirical geothermometry equations and discrepancy for different cation geothermometers is observed. In fact, the location of the curve of “full equilibrium” is different if a different Na−K geothermometry equation is used. The difference is pronounced for temperatures lower than about 220°C. A case study on the, Zhangzhou geothermal field of SE China resulted in a reliable estimate of reservoir temperature of 150°C by the SO4−H2O pair Oxygen-18 isotope geothermometer. This has provided an example of attained equilibrium of the marine sulphate in the geothermal system in the low-medium temperature range (<150°C). A recent refinement of the theoretical geothermometry was achieved by the FixAl method, which provides the possibility to identify and solve problems such as an erroneous analytical value of Aluminium, and influence of processes such as mixing and degassing, and therefore makes it possible to reconstruct most of the “lost equilibrium” in geothermal systems.