An active amagmatic hydrothermal system: The Paralana hot springs, Northern Flinders Ranges, South Australia

Brugger, Joël; Long, Ngaire; McPhail, Derry; Plimer, I. R.

doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2005.06.007

Cited by 67 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Painter area during the Paleozoic, and smaller-scale activity occurred throughout the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. To the present day, small-scale (limited by low rainfall) hydrothermal activity has occurred along the Paralana Fault (Foster et al, 1994;McLaren et al, 2002;Mitchell et al, 2002;Brugger et al, 2005).…”

Section: Implications For Solar System Explorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genesis and Preservation of a Uranium-Rich Paleozoic Epithermal System with a Surface Expression (Northern Flinders Ranges, South Australia): Radiogenic Heat Driving Regional Hydrothermal Circulation over Geological Timescales

2011

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preservation of a uranium-rich Paleozoic epithermal system with a surface expression (Northern Flinders Ranges, South Australia): radiogenic heat driving regional hydrothermal circulation over geological timescales, Astrobiology, 2011; 11(6) Authors may also deposit this version on his/her funder's or funder's designated repository at the funder's request or as a result of a legal obligation, provided it is not made publicly available until 12 months after official publication. Research ArticlesGenesis The surface expressions of hydrothermal systems are prime targets for astrobiological exploration, and fossil systems on Earth provide an analogue to guide this endeavor. The Paleozoic Mt. Gee-Mt. Painter system (MGPS) in the Northern Flinders Ranges of South Australia is exceptionally well preserved and displays both a subsurface quartz sinter (boiling horizon) and remnants of aerial sinter pools that lie in near-original position. The energy source for the MGPS is not related to volcanism but to radiogenic heat produced by U-Th-K-rich host rocks. This radiogenic heat source drove hydrothermal circulation over a long period of time (hundreds of millions of years, from Permian to present), with peaks in hydrothermal activity during periods of uplift and high water supply. This process is reflected by ongoing hot spring activity along a nearby fault. The exceptional preservation of the MGPS resulted from the lack of proximal volcanism, coupled with tectonics driven by an oscillating far-field stress that resulted in episodic basement uplift. Hydrothermal activity caused the remobilization of U and rare earth elements (REE) in host rocks into (sub)economic concentrations. Radiogenicheat-driven systems are attractive analogues for environments that can sustain life over geological times; the MGPS preserves evidence of episodic fluid flow for the past *300 million years. During periods of reduced hydrothermal activity (e.g., limited water supply, quiet tectonics), radiolytic H 2 production has the potential to support an ecosystem indefinitely. Remote exploration for deposits similar to those at the MGPS systems can be achieved by combining hyperspectral and gamma-ray spectroscopy.

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Section: Implications For Solar System Explorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genesis and Preservation of a Uranium-Rich Paleozoic Epithermal System with a Surface Expression (Northern Flinders Ranges, South Australia): Radiogenic Heat Driving Regional Hydrothermal Circulation over Geological Timescales

2011

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“…Its anomalously high heat flow, estimated at 113 mW m −2 (Neumann et al 2000), is associated with an unusual concentration of radiogenic elements within the Mount Painter Domain (Brugger et al 2005). This domain is composed of fractured Paleoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic gneiss, granites and metasediments.…”

Section: T H E Pa R a L A N A T E S T S I T Ementioning

confidence: 99%

Probabilistic 3-D time-lapse inversion of magnetotelluric data: application to an enhanced geothermal system

et al. 2015

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S U M M A R YSurface-based monitoring of mass transfer caused by injections and extractions in deep boreholes is crucial to maximize oil, gas and geothermal production. Inductive electromagnetic methods, such as magnetotellurics, are appealing for these applications due to their large penetration depths and sensitivity to changes in fluid conductivity and fracture connectivity. In this work, we propose a 3-D Markov chain Monte Carlo inversion of time-lapse magnetotelluric data to image mass transfer following a saline fluid injection. The inversion estimates the posterior probability density function of the resulting plume, and thereby quantifies model uncertainty. To decrease computation times, we base the parametrization on a reduced Legendre moment decomposition of the plume. A synthetic test shows that our methodology is effective when the electrical resistivity structure prior to the injection is well known. The centre of mass and spread of the plume are well retrieved. We then apply our inversion strategy to an injection experiment in an enhanced geothermal system at Paralana, South Australia, and compare it to a 3-D deterministic time-lapse inversion. The latter retrieves resistivity changes that are more shallow than the actual injection interval, whereas the probabilistic inversion retrieves plumes that are located at the correct depths and oriented in a preferential north-south direction. To explain the time-lapse data, the inversion requires unrealistically large resistivity changes with respect to the base model. We suggest that this is partly explained by unaccounted subsurface heterogeneities in the base model from which time-lapse changes are inferred.

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“…Anomalous heat flow measurements of up to 126 mW/m 2 have been recorded close to Paralana in the Mount Painter Domain (MPD) (Neumann et al 2000;Brugger et al 2005). The regional geothermal gradient for Paralana of 50 -70 ° C km -1 (Cull & Conley 1983) is significantly higher than the global average value for intraplate sites (Fridleifsson et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crustal fluid pathways imaged using magnetotellurics - implications for the South Australian heat flow anomaly

Soeffky

Peacock

Thiel

et al. 2013

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An active amagmatic hydrothermal system: The Paralana hot springs, Northern Flinders Ranges, South Australia

Cited by 67 publications

References 30 publications

Genesis and Preservation of a Uranium-Rich Paleozoic Epithermal System with a Surface Expression (Northern Flinders Ranges, South Australia): Radiogenic Heat Driving Regional Hydrothermal Circulation over Geological Timescales

Genesis and Preservation of a Uranium-Rich Paleozoic Epithermal System with a Surface Expression (Northern Flinders Ranges, South Australia): Radiogenic Heat Driving Regional Hydrothermal Circulation over Geological Timescales

Probabilistic 3-D time-lapse inversion of magnetotelluric data: application to an enhanced geothermal system

Crustal fluid pathways imaged using magnetotellurics - implications for the South Australian heat flow anomaly

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