Cenozoic volcanism and geothermal resources in Northeast China

Abstract

This paper is concentrated on Cenozoic volcanism and geothermal resources in Northeast China. There are a lot of Cenozoic volcanoes, a large area of volcanic rocks, a large number of active faults and rich geothermal resources in Northeast China. The time and space characteristics of Cenozoic volcanism and the space distribution characters of hot springs and high geothermal flux regions in Northeast China are described and discussed on the basis of geological, geothermal, drilling and volcanological data. It is revealed that the hot springs and high geothermal flux regions are related to the Cenozoic volcanism, rifting and faulting in Northeast China. It is especially emphasized that the hot springs and high geothermal anomaly areas are controlled by active deep faults. It is proposed that the Cenozoic volcanism regions, rift basins, active fault belts, activated plate suture zones and large earthquake occurrence points are the best areas for prospecting geothermal resources. The geothermal resources in younger volcanic zones are richer than those in older volcanic belts. The hot springs and active or activated faults might be a very good clue for looking for geothermal resources.