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Clay Mineralogy, Oxygen Isotope Geochemistry, and Water/Rock Ratio Estimates, Te Mihi Area, Wairakei Geothermal Field, New Zealand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Ryan B. Libbey ,
Fred J. Longstaffe  and
Roberta L. Flemming
Ryan B. Libbey*
Affiliation:
The University of Western Ontario, Department of Earth Sciences, Biology and Geological Sciences Bldg., London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5B7
Fred J. Longstaffe
Affiliation:
The University of Western Ontario, Department of Earth Sciences, Biology and Geological Sciences Bldg., London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5B7
Roberta L. Flemming
Affiliation:
The University of Western Ontario, Department of Earth Sciences, Biology and Geological Sciences Bldg., London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5B7
*
†Present address: McGill University, Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Frank Dawson Adams Bldg., 3450 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 2A7
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Abstract

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Dioctahedral clays from an active continental geothermal system have been studied to assess their usefulness as proxies of paleo-hydrological and thermal conditions in the subsurface. Drill cuttings from Well WK244 in the Te Mihi area of the Wairakei Geothermal Field, New Zealand, were analyzed to determine the mineralogical, morphological, and isotopic characteristics of hydrothermal clays in these samples. Mixed-layer illite-dioctahedral smectite (I-S) and R0 chlorite-trioctahedral smectite are the main clay minerals, with I-S clays varying downward from R1 to R3 ordering and 50 to >90% illite over 160 m. The proportion of illite in I-S correlates positively with downhole temperature (r = 0.98) and I-S morphology changes from high aspect ratio ribbons, laths, and hairy fibers to pseudo-hexagonal plates with depth. Swelling clay percentages determined using the methylene blue method show a strong positive correlation with %S in I-S (r = 0.91), validating use of methylene blue as a rapid field tool for characterizing the smectite to illite transition in this active geothermal environment. The oxygen isotopic composition of I-S (dd18OI-S) decreases systematically with depth, and mostly reflects a progressive increase in subsurface temperature during clay formation. Estimates of water/rock ratios calculated using δ18OI-S values display stratigraphic variability that corresponds to variations in permeability. Oxygen isotopic measurements of I-S are a useful tool for understanding reservoir and permeability evolution in such geothermal systems and their related fossil analogs.

Keywords

Clay MineralsHydrothermalGeothermalIllite-smectiteMethylene BluepXRDNew ZealandOxygen IsotopesSEMTaupo Volcanic ZoneWairakeiWater/Rock Ratio
Type
Research Article
Information
Clays and Clay Minerals , Volume 61 , Issue 3 , June 2013 , pp. 204 - 217
Copyright
Copyright © The Clay Minerals Society 2013

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