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Geology topics

Robert H. Mariner

Publications and source records attributed to Robert H. Mariner.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS2002

Mantle helium and carbon isotopes in Separation Creek geothermal springs, Three Sisters area, central Oregon: Evidence for renewed volcanic activity or a long term steady state system?

Here we present the helium and carbon isotope results from the initial study of a fluid chemistry-monitoring program started in the summer of 2001 near the South Sister volcano in central Oregon. The Separation Creek area which is several miles due west of the volcano is the locus of strong crustal uplift currently occurring at a rate of 4-5 cm/yr (Wicks, et. al. , 2001). Helium [R C /R A = 7.44 and 8.61 R A (R C /R A = ( 3 He/ 4 He) sample-air corrected /( 3 He/ 4 He) air ))] and carbon (δ 13 C = -11.59 to -9.03 ‰ vs PDB) isotope data and CO 2 / 3 He (5 and 9 x 10 9 ) show that bubbling cold springs in the Separation Creek area near South Sister volcano carry a strong mantle signal, indicating the presence of fresh basaltic magma in the volcanic plumbing system. There is no evidence though, to directly relate this signal to the crustal uplift that is currently taking place in the area, which started in 1998. The geothermal system in the area is apparently much longer lived and shows no significant changes in chemistry compared to data from the early 1990s. Hot springs in the area, which are relatively far removed from the volcanic edifice, do not carry a strong mantle signal in helium isotope ratios (2.79 to 5.08 R A ), unlike the cold springs, and also do not show any significant changes in helium isotope ratios compared to literature data for the same springs of over two decades ago. The cold springs of the Separation Creek area form a very diffuse but significant low temperature geothermal system, that should, due to its close vicinity to the center of up uplift, be more sensitive to changes in the deeper volcanic plumbing system than the far removed hot springs and therefore require much more study and consideration when dealing with volcano monitoring in the Cascade range or possibly with geothermal exploration in general.

Oregon↗
USGS2001

Time-variation of hydrothermal discharge at selected sites in the Western United States: Implications for monitoring

We compiled time series of hydrothermal discharge consisting of 3593 chloride- or heat-flux measurements from 24 sites in the Yellowstone region, the northern Oregon Cascades, Lassen Volcanic National Park and vicinity, and Long Valley, California. At all of these sites the hydrothermal phenomena are believed to be as yet unaffected by human activity, though much of the data collection was driven by mandates to collect environmental-baseline data in acticipation of geothermal development. The time series average 19 years in length and some of the Yellowstone sites have been monitored intermittently for over 30 years. Many sites show strong seasonality but few show clear long-term trends, and at most sites statistically significant decadal-scale trends are absent. Thus, the data provide robust estimates of advective heat flow ranging from ~130 MW in the north-central Oregon Cascades to ~6100 MW in the Yellowstone region, and also document Yellowstone hydrothermal chloride and arsenic fluxes of 1740 and 15-20 g/s, respectively. The discharge time series show little sensitivity to regional tectonic events such as earthquakes or inflation/deflation cycles. Most long-term monitoring to date has focused on high-chloride springs and low-temperature fumaroles. The relative stability of these features suggests that discharge measurements done as part of volcano-monitoring programs should focus instead on high-temperature fumaroles, which may be more immediately linked to the magmatic heat source.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1999

Geochemistry of waters from springs, wells, and snowpack on and adjacent to Medicine Lake volcano, northern California

Chemical analyses of waters from cold springs and wells of the Medicine Lake volcano and surrounding region indicate small chloride anomalies that may be due to water-rock interaction or limited mixing with high-temperature geothermal fluids. The Fall River Springs (FRS) with a combined discharge of approximately 37 m3/s, show a negative correlation between chloride (Cl) and temperature, implying that the Cl is not derived from a high-temperature geothermal fluid. The high discharge from the FRS indicates recharge over a large geographic region. Chemical and isotopic variations in the FRS show that they contain a mixture of three distinct waters. The isotopic composition of recharge on and adjacent to the volcano are estimated from the isotopic composition of snow and precipitation amounts adjusted for evapotranspiration. Enough recharge of the required isotopic composition (-100 parts per thousand ??D) is available from a combination of the Medicine Lake caldera, the Fall River basin and the Long Bell basin to support the slightly warmer components of the FRS (32 m3/s). The cold-dilute part of the FRS (approximately 5 m3/s) may recharge in the Bear Creek basin or at lower elevations in the Fall River basin.

Geothermal Resources Council Transactions↗
USGS1997

Mantle fluids in the San Andreas fault system, California

Fluids associated with the San Andreas and companion faults n central and south-central California have high 3He/4He ratios. The lack of correlation between helium isotopes and fluid chemistry or local geology requires that fluids enter the fault system from the mantle. Mantle fluids passing through the ductile lower crust must enter the brittle fault zone at or near lithostatic pressures; estimates of fluid flux based on helium isotopes suggest that they may thus contribute directly to fault-weakening high-fluid pressures at seismogenic depths.

Science↗
USGS1997

Sulfate-water isotope geothermometry and lead isotope data for the regional geothermal system in the Twin Falls area, south-central Idaho

Sulfate-water isotope geothermometry for the geothermal system at Twin Falls, Idaho indicates aquifer-temperatures of 90?? to 106 ??C; most sites are between 90?? and 93 ??C. 206Pb/204pb and 280Pb/204Pb of individual thermal waters are principally a function of how much lead has been dissolved from the carbonate and silicate fractions of the Paleozoic limestone collected west of Grand View Peak. Although most thermal waters are recovered from Tertiary rhyolite, very little of the dissolved lead is from the rhyolite. Recharge to this system occurs in northern Nevada and the fluid moves northward in the Paleozoic limestones. The occurrence of thermal fluid in the Idavada Volcanics near and south of Twin Falls, Idaho is the result of upward movement of this fluid from the Paleozoic limestone.

Conference Paper↗
USGS1994

Hydrothermal systems of the Cascade Range, north-central Oregon

Quaternary volcanoes of the Cascade Range form a 1,200- kilometer-long arc that extends from southern British Columbia to northern California. The section of the Cascade Range volcanic arc in central Oregon is characterized by relatively high Quaternary volcanic extrusion rates and hot-spring discharge rates. Stableisotope data and measurements of hot-spring heat discharge indicate that gravity-driven thermal fluid circulation transports about 1 MW (megawatt) of heat per kilometer of arc length from the Quaternary arc into Western Cascade rocks older than about 7 Ma (millions of years before present). Inferred flow-path lengths for the Na-Ca-Cl thermal waters of the Western Cascades are 10 to 40 kilometers (km), and an average topographic gradient as large as 0.1 separates the inferred recharge areas from the hot-spring groups. Thermal-fluid residence times are probably 10 2 to 10 4 years: sulfate-water isotopic equilibrium indicates residence times of more than 10 2 years, and our interpretation of stable-isotope data implies residence times of less than 10 4 years.

Oregon↗
USGS1994

Chemical, isotopic, and dissolved gas compositions of the hot springs of the Owyhee Uplands, Malheur County, Oregon

Hot springs along the Owyhee River in southeastern Oregon between Three Forks and Lake Owyhee could be part of a north flowing regional system or a series of small separate geothermal systems Heat for the waters could be from a very young (Holocene) volcanic activity (basalt flows) of the Owyhee Uplands or the regional heat flow. The springs discharge warm to hot, dilute, slightly alkaline, sodium bicarbonate water. Chemically they are similar to the dilute thermal water at Bruneau Grand View and Twin Falls, Idaho. Maximum aquifer temperatures in the Owyhee Uplands, estimated from chemical geothermometry, are about 100°C. Dissolved helium concentrations, carbon 14 activity, and chemical and isotope data are examined fro systematic trends which would indicate a geothermal system of regional extent.

Oregon↗
USGS1994

Convective heat discharge of Wood River group of springs in the vicinity of Crater Lake, Oregon

Data sets for spring and stream chemistry are combined to estimate convective heat discharge and discharge anomalous amounts of sodium and chloride for the Wood River group of springs south of Crater Lake. The best estimate of heat discharge is 87 MW t based on chloride inventory; this value is 3-5 times the heat input to Crater Lake itself. Anomalous discharges of sodium and chloride are also larger that into Crater Lake. Difference between the chemical and thermal characteristics of the discharge into Crater Lake and those from the Wood River group of springs suggest that the heat sources for the two systems may be different, although both ultimately related to the volcanic system.

Oregon↗
USGS1993

Geothermometry and water-rock interaction in selected thermal systems in the Cascade Range and Modoc Plateau, western United States

The sulfate—water isotope geothermometer indicates higher equilibrium temperatures than the silica or cation ratio geothermometers for the Na—Cl and Na—Ca—Cl thermal waters of the Cascade Range, Oregon and the Na—SO 4 thermal waters of the Modoc Plateau, northeastern California. Sulfate concentrations in the Na—Ca—Cl waters decrease as σ 18 O values of the dissolved sulfate become more depleted; conversely, sulfate concentrations in the Na—SO 4 waters increase as σ 18 O values of the sulfate become more depleted. Calculations show that the thermal waters are theoretically saturated with respect to anhydrite (CaSO 4 ) at temperatures very close to those calculated from the sulfate—water isotope geothermometer.

Geothermics↗
USGS1992

Thermal waters along the Konocti Bay fault zone, Lake County, California: a re-evaluation

The Konocti Bay fault zone (KBFZ), initially regarded by some as a promising target for liquid-dominated geothermal systems, has been a disappointment. At least five exploratory wells were drilled in the vicinity of the KBFZ, but none were successful. Although the Na-K-Ca and Na-Li geothermometers indicate that the thermal waters discharging in the vicinity of Howard and Seigler Springs may have equilibrated at temperatures greater than 200??C, the spring temperatures and fluid discharges are low. Most thermal waters along the KBFZ contain >100 mg/l Mg. High concentrations of dissolved magnesium are usually indicative of relatively cool hydrothermal systems. Dissolution of serpentine at shallow depths may contribute dissolved silica and magnesium to rising thermal waters. Most thermal waters are saturated with respect to amorphous silica at the measured spring temperature. Silica geothermometers and mixing models are useless because the dissolved silica concentration is not controlled by the solubility of either quartz or chalcedony. Cation geothermometry indicates the possibility of a high-temperature fluid (> 200??C) only in the vicinity of Howard and Seigler Springs. However, even if the fluid temperature is as high as that indicated by the geothermometers, the permeability may be low. Deuterium and oxygen-18 values of the thermal waters indicate that they recharged locally and became enriched in oxygen-18 by exchange with rock. Diluting meteoric water and the thermal water appear to have the same deuterium value. Lack of tritium in the diluted spring waters suggest that the diluting water is old. ?? 1992.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1991

Chemical, isotopic, and dissolved gas compositions of the hydrothermal system in Twin Falls and Jerome counties, Idaho

The chemical, isotopic, and gas compositions of the hydrothermal system in Twin Falls and Jerome counties, Idaho, change systematically as the water moves northward from the Idaho-Nevada boundary toward the Snake River. Sodium, chloride, fluoride, alkalinity, dissolved helium, and carbon-13 increase as calcium and carbon-14 decrease. Water-rock reactions may result in dissolution of plagioclase or volcanic glass and calcite, followed by precipitation of zeolites and clays. On the basis of carbon-14 age dating, apparent water ages range from 2,000 to more than 26,000 years; most apparent ages range from about 4,000 to 10,000 years. The older waters, north of the Snake River, are isotopically depleted in deuterium and are enriched in chloride relative to waters to the south. Thermal waters flowing northward beneath the Snake River may join a westward flow of older thermal water slightly north of the river. The direction of flow in the hydrothermal system seems to parallel the surface drainage.

Geothermal Resources Council Transactions↗
USGS1990

Geothermal segmentation of the Cascade Range in the USA

Characteristics of the crustal thermal regime of the Quaternary Cascades vary systematically along the range. Spatially congruent changes in volcanic vent distribution, volcanic extrusion rate, hydrothermal discharge rate, and regional conductive heat flow define 5 geothermal segments. These segments are, from north to south: (1) the Washington Cascades north of Mount Rainier, (2) the Cascades from Mount Rainier to Mount Hood, (3) the Oregon Cascades from south of Mount Hood to the California border, (4) northernmost California, including Mount Shasta and Medicine Lake volcano, and (5) the Lassen region of northern California. This segmentation indicates that geothermal resource potential is not uniform in the Cascade Range. Potential varies from high in parts of Oregon to low in Washington north of Mount Rainier.

Conference Paper↗
USGS1989

Heat flow and hydrothermal circulation in the Cascade Range, north-central Oregon

In north-central Oregon a large area of near-zero near-surface conductive heat flow occurs in young volcanic rocks of the Cascade Range. Recent advective heat flux measurements and a heat-budget analysis suggest that ground-water circulation sweeps sufficient heat out of areas where rocks younger than 6 Ma (million years ago) are exposed to account for the anomalously high advective and conductive heat discharge measured in older rocks at lower elevations. Earlier workers have proposed that an extensive midcrustal magmatic heat source is responsible for this anomalously high heat flow. Instead, high heat flow in the older rocks may be a relatively shallow phenomenon caused by regional ground-water flow. Any deeper anomaly may be relatively narrow, spatially variable, and essentially confined to the Quaternary (less than 2 Ma) arc. Magmatic intrusion at a rate of 9 to 33 cubic kilometers per kilometer of arc length per million years can account for the total heat flow anomaly. Deep drilling in the areas of high heat flow in the older rocks could indicate which model is more appropriate for the near-surface heat flow data.

Oregon↗
USGS1989

Geochemistry of thermal water from selected wells, Boise, Idaho

Samples of thermal water from selected wells in the Boise area were analyzed for chemical composition; stable isotopes of hydrogen, oxygen, and dissolved carbon; radioactive carbon; and dissolved-gas concentrations. Chemically, the waters are virtually identical to those of the adjacent Idaho batholith. Isotopically, the thermal waters are more depleted in deuterium and oxygen-18 than coldwater springs in the presumed recharge area. Chemical and isotopic data indicate the presence of two separate geothermal systems. Radioactive carbon and dissolved helium concentrations are interpreted to indicate recharge during the Pleistocene. Hot water in or southeast of Boise probably recharged 20,000 to 30,000 years ago, and warm water 2.5 miles northwest of Boise probably recharged at least 15,000 years ago.

Conference Paper↗
USGS1988

Chemical and hydrologic data for selected thermal-water wells and nonthermal springs in the Boise Area, southwesten Idaho

Data were collected during January to July 1988 from 37 thermal-water wells and 3 nonthermal springs in the Boise area, southwestern Idaho. Included are well and spring locations; well-construction, water-level, and water-use information; hydrographs of water levels in 3 wells; chemical and isotopic analyses of water from 18 thermal-water wells and 3 nonthermal springs; and drillers ' logs from 23 wells. The purpose of the report is to make these data conveniently available to the public. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗