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Enhanced fracture permeability and accompanying fluid flow in the footwall of a normal fault: The Hurricane fault at Pah Tempe hot springs, Washington County, Utah

2006; Geological Society of America; Volume: preprint; Issue: 2008 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1130/b26285.1

1943-2674

Stephen T. Nelson, Alan L. Mayo, Stuart Gilfillan, Sarah J. Dutson, Ronald A. Harris, Zoe K. Shipton, David G. Tingey,

Groundwater flow and contamination studies

Research Article| January 01, 2009 Enhanced fracture permeability and accompanying fluid flow in the footwall of a normal fault: The Hurricane fault at Pah Tempe hot springs, Washington County, Utah Stephen T. Nelson; Stephen T. Nelson † 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brigham Young University, S-389 ESC, Provo, Utah 84602, USA †E-mail: stn@geology.byu.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Alan L. Mayo; Alan L. Mayo 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brigham Young University, S-389 ESC, Provo, Utah 84602, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Stuart Gilfillan; Stuart Gilfillan 2School of Geosciences, Grant Institute of Geology, The King's Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Sarah J. Dutson; Sarah J. Dutson 3Department of Geological Sciences, Brigham Young University, S-389 ESC, Provo, Utah 84602, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Ronald A. Harris; Ronald A. Harris 3Department of Geological Sciences, Brigham Young University, S-389 ESC, Provo, Utah 84602, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Zoe K. Shipton; Zoe K. Shipton 4Department of Geographical and Earth Sciences, Glasgow University, Gregory Building, Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar David G. Tingey David G. Tingey 5Department of Geological Sciences, Brigham Young University, S-389 ESC, Provo, Utah 84602, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GSA Bulletin (2009) 121 (1-2): 236–246. https://doi.org/10.1130/B26285.1 Article history received: 03 Jul 2007 rev-recd: 25 Mar 2008 accepted: 12 May 2008 first online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Stephen T. Nelson, Alan L. Mayo, Stuart Gilfillan, Sarah J. Dutson, Ronald A. Harris, Zoe K. Shipton, David G. Tingey; Enhanced fracture permeability and accompanying fluid flow in the footwall of a normal fault: The Hurricane fault at Pah Tempe hot springs, Washington County, Utah. GSA Bulletin 2009;; 121 (1-2): 236–246. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B26285.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract The Pah Tempe hot springs discharge ~260 L/s of water at ~40 °C into the Virgin River in the footwall damage zone of the Hurricane fault at Timpoweap Canyon, near Hurricane, Utah, USA. Although these are Na-Cl waters, they actively discharge CO2 gas and contain significant quantities of CO2 (~34.6 mmol/kg), predominantly as H2CO3 and HCO−3. Because of excellent exposures, Pah Tempe provides an exceptional opportunity to observe the effects of enhanced fracture permeability in an active extensional fault.Pah Tempe waters have been deeply circulated (>5 km; >150 °C) into basement rock as illustrated by the clear water-rock exchange of oxygen isotopes. Waters were probably recharged under colder climate conditions than present and therefore have a prolonged subsurface residence. Discharge of both water and gas in the springs correlates to the density of fractures in carbonate rocks above stream level. This observation suggests that clusters of high fracture density in the fault-damage zone act as pathways from the likely regional aquifer, the eolian Queantoweap Sandstone, through the overlying confining unit, the gypsiferous silty Seligman Member of the Kaibab Formation.Mass-balance modeling suggests that the majority of CO2 discharge is the product of the quantitative dissolution of CO2 gas at depth within the fault zone. Upon discharge, most of the carbon is released to the surface as dissolved species. It appears that the subsurface production rate of CO2 is relatively low because Pah Tempe waters are grossly undersaturated in CO2 at inferred minimum circulation depths and temperatures. Geological and geochemical data also suggest that the CO2 is dominated by a crustal component complemented by minor mantle contributions. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.