O, H, and Sr isotope evidence for origin and mixing processes of the Gudui geothermal system, Himalayas, China

Abstract

The Gudui geothermal field records the highest temperature at equivalent borehole depths among the mainland hydrothermal systems in mainland China. Located about 150 ​km southeast of Lhasa City, the capital of Tibet, the Gudui geothermal field belongs to the Sangri–Cuona rift belt, also known as the Sangri–Cuona geothermal belt, and is representative of the non-volcanic geothermal systems in the Himalayas. In this study, oxygen-18 and deuterium isotope compositions as well as 87Sr/86Sr ratios of water samples collected from the Gudui geothermal field were characterized to understand the origin and mixing processes of the geothermal fluids at Gudui. Hydrogen and oxygen isotope plots show both, deep and shallow reservoirs in the Gudui geothermal field. Deep geothermal fluids are the mixing product of magmatic and infiltrating snow-melt water. Calculations show that the magma fluid component of the deep geothermal fluids account for about 21.10%–24.04%; magma fluids may also be a contributing source of lithium. The linear relationship of the 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratio versus the 1/Sr plot indicates that shallow geothermal fluids form from the mixing of deep geothermal fluids with cold groundwater. Using a binary mixing model with deep geothermal fluid and cold groundwater as two end-members, the mixing ratios of the latter in most surface hot springs samples were calculated to be between 5% and 10%. Combined with basic geological characteristics, hydrogen and oxygen isotope characteristics, strontium concentration, 87Sr/86Sr ratios, and the binary mixing model, we infer the 6th-Class Reservoirs Evolution Conceptual Model (6-CRECM) for the Gudui geothermal system. This model represents an idealized summary of the characteristics of the Gudui geothermal field based on our comprehensive understanding of the origin and mixing processes of the geothermal fluid in Gudui. This study may aid in identifying the geothermal and geochemical origin of the Gudui high-temperature hydrothermal systems in remote Tibet of China, whose potential for geothermal development and utilization is enormous and untapped.