Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The nature of the ellidaár geothermal area in sw-iceland

1993; Elsevier BV; Volume: 22; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0375-6505(93)90006-9

1879-3576

Jens Tómasson,

Cryospheric studies and observations

The Ellidaár low-temperature system is situated in Quaternary strata in SW-Iceland. It has been utilized for space heating in the city of Reykjavik since 1968. The subsurface rocks may be divided into an upper basalt group, a hyaloclastite group and a lower basalt group. A temperature reversal between 400 and 1200 m depth with a maximum temperature of 100–110°C is observed inside the production field of the Ellidaár area. This indicates a hot water inflow from the north. Hydrological barriers are believed to separate the Ellidaár area from the Laugarnes geothermal area 2–3 km to the west. The Ellidaár area is situated next to a deep cold water system, associated with the Krýsuvik fissure swarm, which interacts with the geothermal system. The cold water penetrates from the surface down to 750–1000 m depth. It is suggested that a flow of colder water from the fissure swarm to the Ellidaár system mines heat along the way. During production colder water from groundwater systems above and adjacent to the geothermal system replaces the geothermal water produced. This has caused a 7–36°C drop in production temperatures.