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The Salton Sea geothermal system is overlain by a thermal cap of low permeability rocks that restricts the upward movement of the high-temperature reservoir brines. Petrographic and fluid inclusion data from two wells show that the thermal cap in the southern part of the field consists of an upper layer of lacustrine and evaporite deposits with low initial permeabilities and a lower layer of deltaic sandstones. The sandstones were incorporated into the thermal cap as downward percolating fluids deposited anhydrite and calcite in the pore space of the rocks, reducing their permeabilities. During development of the thermal cap, base-metal sulfides, potassium feldspar and quartz veins were deposited by brines from higher temperature portions of the system.

The maximum wellhead pressure at which hot water wells discharge is an important parameter for geothermal power and as it slowly declines with years of exploitation presents a moving target for project designers. It can also decrease rapidly for newly closed-in wells (within days or even hours) to a point at which auto-discharge is impossible and tedious techniques have to be employed to restart flow. The common cause of this phenomenon is reduction in the temperature of the hot water feeding the well; in the former case is the result of a general decline in the reservoir water enthalpy, and in the latter is due to cooler denser water from higher in the uncased part of the well percolating down and flooding the lower more permeable levels from which a discharging well mainly draws its fluids. The inter-relationship of feed water temperature, depth and maximum discharging-pressure is determined in this study with illustrated examples demonstrating application.

This section covers analyses performed on gas. Chemical analyses can only be related to well performance if the quantity of the various fluids are known. The IGT on-line data computer system measures the flowrate, the pressures, and the temperatures every 10 seconds. These values are automatically recorded over operator selected intervals both on magnetic media and on paper. This allows review of samples versus operating conditions. This paper covers analyses performed on gas, including: An approximate sampling schedule during flow tests; On-site sample handling and storage of gas samples; Addresses of laboratories that perform off site analyses; Sample shipping instructions; Data archiving; and Quality Control/Quality Assurance. It is expected that the above procedures will change as the flow test progresses, but deviations from the written procedures should be approved by C. Hayden of IGT and noted on the results of the analysis.

This article attempts to critically evaluate the present state of the art of geothermal reservoir simulation. Methodological aspects of geothermal reservoir modeling are briefly reviewed, with special emphasis on flow in fractured media. Then we examine applications of numerical simulation to studies of reservoir dynamics, well test design and analysis, and modeling of specific fields. Tangible impacts of reservoir simulation technology on geothermal energy development are pointed out. We conclude with considerations on possible future developments in the mathematical modeling of geothermal fields. 45 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.

An independent analysis of lost circulation materials for geothermal applications has been completed using unique laboratory tools developed for the purpose. Test results of commercial materials as well as mathematical models for evaluating their performance are presented. Physical attributes that govern the performance of lost circulation materials are identified and correlated with test results. 9 refs., 27 figs., 4 tabs.

This report describes two tasks of different nature. The first of these tasks was the preparation of a data base for heat flow and associated ancillary information for the United States. This data base is being used as the basis for preparation of the United States portion of a geothermal map of North America. The ''Geothermal Map of North America'' will be published as part of the Decade of North American Geology (DNAG) series of the Geological Society of America. The second of these tasks was to make a geothermal evaluation of holes drilled in the Cascade Range as part of a Department of Energy (DOE)/Industry co-sponsored deep drilling project. This second task involved field work, making temperature logs in the holes, and laboratory work, measuring thermal conductivity measurements on an extensive set of samples from these holes. The culmination of this task was an interpretation of heat flow values in terms of the regional thermal conditions; implications for geothermal systems in the Cascade Range; evaluation of the effect of groundwater flow on the depths that need to be drilled for successful measurements in the Cascade Range; and investigation of the nature of the surface groundwater effects on the temperature-depth …

This proceedings contains 20 technical papers and abstracts describing most of the research activities funded by the Department of Energy (DOE's) Geothermal Reservoir Technology Program, which is under the management of Marshall Reed. The meeting was organized in response to several requests made by geothermal industry representatives who wanted to learn more about technical details of the projects supported by the DOE program. Also, this gives them an opportunity to personally discuss research topics with colleagues in the national laboratories and universities.

Scientific core hole VC-2A was drilled into the western ring-fracture zone at Sulphur Springs in the Valles caldera, New Mexico. VC-2A, the second scientific core hole in the caldera, was cored through a faulted and brecciated sequence of intracauldron tuffs and volcaniclastic rocks to a depth of 528 m. As of November 1, 1986, the unequilibrated bottom-hole temperature was 212/degree/C. The rocks penetrated are intensely altered and host sub-ore grade stockwork molybdenite mineralization between 25 and 125 m. This report contains a detailed core log to aid researchers in their studies of the Valles caldera magma hydrothermal system. 3 refs., 2 figs.

Direct heat use of geothermal energy in the United States is recognized as one of the alternative energy resources that has proven itself technically and economically, and is commercially available. Developments include space conditioning of buildings, district heating, groundwater heat pumps, greenhouse heating, industrial processing, aquaculture, and swimming pool heating. Forty-four states have experienced significant geothermal direct use development in the last ten years. The total installed capacity is 5.7 billion Btu/hr (1700 MW/sub t/), with an annual energy use of nearly 17,000 billion Btu/yr (4.5 million barrels of oil energy equivalent). In this report we provide an overview of how and where geothermal energy is used, the extent of that use, the economics and growth trends. The data is based on an extensive site data gathering effort by the Geo-Heat Center in the spring of 1988, under contract to the US Department of Energy. 100 refs., 4 figs., 4 tabs.

The technology items in this report were selected on the basis of technological readiness and applicability to current technology transfer thrusts. The items include technologies that are considered to be within 2 to 3 years of being transferred. While the catalog does not profess to be entirely complete, it does represent an initial attempt at archiving innovative geothermal technologies with ample room for additions as they occur. The catalog itself is divided into five major functional areas: Exploration; Drilling, Well Completion, and Reservoir Production; Materials and Brine Chemistry; Direct Use; and Economics. Within these major divisions are sub-categories identifying specific types of technological advances: Hardware; Software; Data Base; Process/Procedure; Test Facility; and Handbook.

In response to strong endorsement from the scientific community, in the form of a report by the Continental Scientific Drilling Committee of the National Academy of Sciences (CSDC, 1984), the Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the DOE undertook a program of investigations of young magmatic intrusions and their associated thermal systems. To date, the effort has encompassed the first phases of a program to investigate the roots of active hydrothermal systems and has also investigated the thermal, chemical, and mechanical behavior of geologically recent (less than 600 years) magmatic extrusions. Shallow to intermediate-depth holes have been drilled and cored into hydrothermal systems in the silicic Valles and Long Valley calderas and at the crustal spreading center of the Salton Trough. These projects are briefly summarized here and are covered in greater detail in the accompanying appendices.

The national economy is particularly dependent on efficient electrical generation and transportation. Electrical demand continues to grow and will increasingly rely on coal and nuclear fuels. The nuclear power industry still has not found a solution to the problem of disposing of the waste produced by nuclear reactors. Although coal is in ample supply and the infrastructure is in place for its utilization, environmental problems and improved conversion processes remain technical challenges. In the case of transportation, the nation depends almost exclusively on liquid fuels with attendant reliance on imported oil. Economic alternates---synfuels from coal, natural gas, and oil shale, or fuel cells and batteries---have yet to be developed or perfected so as to impact the marketplace. Inefficiencies in energy conversion in almost all phases of resource utilization remain. These collective problems are the focus of the Energy Program.

Prior to emplacement in a nuclear waste repository, each waste form must be well characterized with respect to its behavior in the environments expected to develop in the repository. This scoping study was designed to obtain a qualitative idea of how spent fuel cladding would respond to a hot water environment that could develop in a tuff repository at a time when temperatures have cooled to {approximately}95{degree}C and hot liquid water has infiltrated the repository horizon. That information would then be used to establish more definitive tests on cladding behavior in a tuff repository. For this study bundles of spent fuel cladding held together with a 304 stainless steel (SS) wrap were constructed which simulate the geometries and materials associations in a breached 304L SS container. They were exposed to 90{degree}C tuff-equilibrated Well J-13 water for periods of 2, 6, and 12 mo. During the experiments, the water level, temperature, conductivity, and pH were monitored on a regular basis. The water was also checked periodically for carbon (organic, inorganic, and later in the experiment Carbon-14) and zirconium. More extensive water analyses were carried out at the midpoint and completion of the experiments. 12 refs., 16 figs., 5 tabs.

Our studies involved petrographic, fluid inclusion, geochemical and stable isotopic studies of drillcores and fluids from the Salton Sea geothermal system. Our initial studies revealed the presence of previously-unrecognized evaporitic anhydrite at depth throughout the geothermal system. The high salinity of the Salton Sea geothermal brines previously had been attributed to low-temperature dissolution of surficial evaporitic deposits by meteoric waters. Our microthermometric studies of halite--containing fluid inclusions in the meta-evaporites indicated that the high salinity of the geothermal brines is derived in part from the hydrothermal metamorphism of relatively deeply-buried salt and evaporites. In addition, our research concentrated on mineralized fractures in drillcores.

This report is the second volume of the Recovery Efficiency Test Phase I Report of Activities. Volume 1 covered selection, well planning, drilling, coring, logging and completion operations. This volume reports on well testing activities, reclamation activities on the drilling site and access roads, and the results of physical and mechanical properties tests on the oriented core material obtained from a horizontal section of the well. 3 refs., 21 figs., 10 tabs.

This report is the second volume of the Recovery Efficiency Test Phase I Report of Activities. Volume 1 covered selection, well planning, drilling, coring, logging and completion operations. This volume reports on well testing activities, reclamation activities on the drilling site and access roads, and the results of physical and mechanical properties tests on the oriented core material obtained from a horizontal section of the well. 3 refs., 21 figs., 10 tabs.

Chloride (Cl) concentrations of 10-120 ppm{sub w} have been measured in superheated steam produced by wells at The Geysers, a vapor-dominated geothermal field in northern California. Corrosion of the well casing and steam-gathering system has been recognized in some parts of The Geysers, and is apparently related to the presence of Cl. Cl in the steam is in a volatile form, generated with the steam at reservoir temperatures, and probably travels to the wellhead as HCl gas. Published experimental data for partial pressures of HCl in steam over aqueous HCl solutions and for dissociation constants of HCl were used to calculate distribution coefficients for HCl. Reservoir liquid Cl concentrations capable of generating steam with the observed Cl concentrations were then calculated as a function of pH and temperatures from 250 to 350º C. Equilibrium mineral/liquid reactions with the K-mica and K-feldspar assemblage found in the wells limit the reservoir liquid pH values at various Cl concentrations to about 5 to 6 (near neutral at 250 to 350º C). Within this pH range, liquid at 250º C could not produce steam containing the high Cl concentrations observed. However, liquid at higher temperatures (300 to 350º C) with chloride concentrations greater than …

The Pacific Northwest Laboratory monitors ground-water quality at the Hanford Site for the US Department of Energy to assess the impact of Site operations on the environment. Work undertaken between July and December 1987 included monitoring ground-water elevations across the Site, monitoring hazardous chemicals and radionuclides in ground water, geochemical evaluations of unconfined ground-water data, and calibration of ground-water flow and transport models. Water levels continued to rise in areas receiving increased recharge (e.g., beneath B Pond) and decline in areas where the release of water to disposal facilities has been terminated (e.g., U Pond). The major areas of ground-water contamination defined by monitoring activities are (1) carbon tetrachloride in the 200-West Area; (2) cyanide in and north of the 200-East and 200-West Areas; (3) hexavalent chromium contamination in the 100-B, 100-D, 100-F, 100-H, 100-K, and 200-West Areas; (4) chlorinated hydrocarbons in the vicinity of the Central Landfill and 300 Area; (5) uranium in the 100-F, 100-H, 200-West, and 300 Areas; and (6) tritium and nitrate across the Site. The MINTEQ geochemical code was used to identify chemical reactions that may be affecting the concentrations of dissolved hazardous chemicals in the unconfined ground water. Results indicate that many cations are …

If analysis of the microseismicity accompanying fluid injections is to be of maximum use in predicting hot dry rock (HDR) reservoir performance, it should lead to the determination of both the rock volume and active flowing surface area of the reservoir. In the granitic rock at the HDR geothermal site at Fenton Hill, New Mexico, the micro-earthquakes located during hydraulic fracturing occur in large three-dimensional volumes called seismic clouds. Cores cut from the region prior to fracturing show numerous planar fractures, some mineral-filled, at virtually random orientations. Evidence supports the hypothesis that only a few of these planes make up the flow path between wells for most of the injected fluid. If this is indeed the case, then it is necessary to be able to distinguish between fractures that accept flow from those which do not. We accomplish this by defining “flow-probable” planes to be those which have seismicity located relatively farther away from lines where other planes intersect. We show that these flow probable planes intercept wellbores at locations where other data confirm the presence of hydraulically active fractures.

Virtually all wells drilled into bedrock intercept a water-bearing fracture, but cavities occur only in areas underlaid by limy rocks. Multiple cavities are common in wells in the Conasauga and Knox Groups but are rare in the Rome Formation and the Chickamauga Group. The geometric mean height (vertical dimension) of the cavities is 0.59 m, the geometric mean depth is 14 m, the average lateral spatial frequency is 0.16, and the average vertical spatial frequency is 0.019. Differences in cavity parameter values are caused partly by geologic factors such as lithology, bed thickness, and spatial fracture frequency. However, hydrologic factors such as percolation rate, recharge amount, aquifer storage capacity, and differences between lateral and vertical permeability may also be important. Tracer tests show that groundwater velocity in some cavities is in the range 20-300 m/d, and relatively rapid flow rates occur near springs. In contrast, wells that intercept cavities have about the same range in hydraulic conductivity as wells in regolith and fractured rock. The hydraulic conductivity data indicate a flow rate of less than 1.0 m/d. This difference cannot be adequately explained, but rapid groundwater movement may be much more common above the water table than below. Rapid groundwater …

A correlation is developed to predict thermal conductivity of drill cores from the Los Azufres geothermal field. Only andesites are included as they are predominant. Thermal conductivity of geothermal rocks is in general scarce and its determination is not simple. Almost all published correlations were developed for sedimentary rocks. Typically, for igneous rocks, chemical or mineral analyses are used for estimating conductivity by using some type of additive rule. This requires specialized analytical techniques and the procedure may not be sufficiently accurate if, for instance, a chemical analysis is to be changed into a mineral analysis. Thus a simple and accurate estimation method would be useful for engineering purposes. The present correlation predicts thermal conductivity from a knowledge of bulk density and total porosity, properties which provide basic rock characterization and are easy to measure. They may be determined from drill cores or cuttings, and the procedures represent a real advantage given the cost and low availability of cores. The multivariate correlation proposed is a quadratic polynomial and represents a useful tool to estimate thermal conductivity of igneous rocks since data on this property is very limited. For porosities between 0% and 25%, thermal conductivity is estimated with a maximum …

A high-temperature vapor-dominated reservoir underlies a portion of the Northwest Geysers area, Sonoma County, California. The high-temperature reservoir (HTR) is defined by flowing fluid temperatures exceeding 500º F, rock temperatures apparently exceeding 600º F and steam enthalpies of about 1320 BTU/lb. Steam from existing wells drilled in the Northwest Geysers is produced from both a “typical” Geysers reservoir and the HTR. In all cases, the HTR is in the lower portion of the wells and is overlain by a “typical” Geysers reservoir. Depth to the high-temperature reservoir is relatively uniform at about -5900 ft subsea. There are no identified lithologic or mineralogic conditions that separate the HTR from the “typical” reservoir, although the two reservoirs are vertically distinct and can be located in most wells to within about 200 ft by the use of downhole temperature-depth measurements. Gas concentrations in steam from the HTR are higher (6 to 9 wt %) than from the “typical” Geysers reservoir (0.85 to 2.6 wt %). Steam from the HTR is enriched in chloride and the heavy isotopes of water relative to the “typical” reservoir. Available static and dynamic measurements show pressures are subhydrostatic in both reservoirs with no anomalous differences between the two: …

Three geothermal wells tapping the Dogger aquifer were studied in detail for their variations in chemical composition with time or conditions of exploitation. Analytical improvements for the determination of Cl, SO{sub 4}, Ca, Mg, Na and K make it possible to detect variations respectively of 0.15, 0.8, 0.6, 1.8, 1.8 and 1.4 %. Despite the fact that the natural flow may be important in some parts of the basin aquifer, we conclude that this factor is not responsible for the small variations noticed in mineralization within the one year survey period. The results concerning reactive and nonreactive species are best explained if a vertical heterogeneity of the chemistry of the fluid is assumed. A number of calcareous sub-layers, already demonstrated by geological studies, contribute to varying degrees to the production of the hot water. The changes in pumping rates, which are fixed according to external requirements, play a major role in the hydrodynamic and chemical disequilibrium of the wells. The consequences for the geothermal exploitations are emphasized.