Chance No. 1 was drilled to a depth of 245. 4 m and cased to a depth of 72. 2 m in 1961. Temperature logs were obtained in 1976, 1982, and 1983, with the casing open to the atmosphere. Water was boiling at the surface of the fluid column on each occasion. Temperatures within the upper part of the cased interval remained virtually identical over the 7-year period. The small differences observed can be ascribed to convective motions in the large-diameter casing and the large geothermal gradient. Above a depth of 160 m in the open hole, temperatures have cooled 5 degree -7 degree C over the 7-year period of observation. The shape of the temperature profiles and their variation with time can be explained by an influx of cool water at about 160 m. The cooling rate is much larger between 1982 and 1983 than that between 1982 and 1976, which suggests that earthquake shaking may be a major contributing factor.

Conference Paper↗

USGS1984

ASSESSMENT OF HIGH-TEMPERATURE GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES IN HYDROTHERMAL CONVECTION SYSTEMS IN THE UNITED STATES.

The amount of thermal energy in high-temperature geothermal systems (>150 degree C) in the United States has been calculated by estimating the temperature, area, and thickness of each identified system. These data, along with a general model for recoverability of geothermal energy and a calculation that takes account of the conversion of thermal energy to electricity, yield a resource estimate of 23,000 MWe for 30 years. The undiscovered component was estimated based on multipliers of the identified resource as either 72,000 or 127,000 MWe for 30 years depending on the model chosen for the distribution of undiscovered energy as a function of temperature.

Conference Paper↗

USGS1980

Temperatures, heat flow, and water chemistry from drill holes in the Raft River geothermal system, Cassia County, Idaho

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Open-File Report↗

USGS1978

Methodology of determining the uncertainty in the accessible geothermal resource base of identified hydrothermal convection systems

In order to quantify the uncertainty of estimates of the geothermal resource base in identified hydrothermal convection systems, a methodology is presented for combining estimates with uncertainties for temperature, area, and thickness of a geothermal reservoir into an estimate of the stored energy with uncertainty. Probability density functions for temperature, area, and thickness are assumed to be triangular in form. In order to calculate the probability distribution function for the stored energy in a single system or in many systems, a computer program for aggregating the input distribution functions using the Monte-Carlo method has been developed. To calculate the probability distribution of stored energy in a single system, an analytical expression is also obtained that is useful for calibrating the Monte Carlo approximation. For the probability distributions of stored energy in a single and in many systems, the central limit approximation is shown to give results ranging from good to poor.

Open-File Report↗

USGS1976

Rise of a variable-viscosity fluid in a steadily spreading wedge-shaped conduit with accreting walls

Relatively rigid plates making up the outer 50 to 100 km of the Earth are steadily separating from one another along narrow globe-circling zones of submarine volcanism, the oceanic spreading centers. Continuity requires that the viscous underlying material rise beneath spreading centers and accrete onto the steadily diverging plates. It is likely that during the rise the viscosity changes systematically and that the viscous tractions exerted on the plates contribute to the unique pattern of submarine mountains and earthquake faults observed at spreading centers. The process is modeled by viscous creep in a wedge-shaped conduit (with apex at the sea floor) in which the viscosity varies as r m where r is distance from the apex and m is a parameter. For these conditions, the governing differential equations take a simple form. The solution for the velocity is independent of r and of the sign of m . As viscous stresses vary as r m-1 , the pattern of stress on the conduit wall is sensitive to viscosity variation. For negative m , the viscous pressure along the base of the conduit is quite uniform; for positive m , it falls toward zero in the axial region as the conduit base widens. For small opening angles, viscous forces push the plates apart, and for large ones, they oppose plate separation. Though highly idealized, the solution provides a tool for investigating tectonic processes at spreading centers.

Journal of Research of the U.S. Geological Survey↗

USGS1975

Some reservoir engineering calculations for the vapor-dominated system at Larderello, Italy

Various reservoir properties are calculated for the Larderello vapor-dominated system using available published data. Bottom-hole flowing properties are calculated from measured wellhead data. Whereas wellhead temperatures measured at a particular time tend to change systematically with changes in flow and pressure, calculated bottom-hole temperatures tend to be constant for two sample wells; while for a third, bottom-hole temperatures decrease with increasing flow. Bottom-hole temperatures calculated from wellhead data taken over several years can be constant, increase, or decrease for particular wells. A steady-state model for steam flow to a well is used with calculated bottom-hole data to show that the effect of non-Darcy flow is important. The initial mass of fluid in place for the northeast zone of Larderello (56 km2) is estimated, using data on shut-in pressures and total mass production. Reservoir thickness needed to store this mass of fluid is calculated as a function of porosity and initial fraction of water in pores. Representative values are 19 km of thickness, assuming 5% porosity with steam alone, and 832 m, assuming 20% porosity and 10% of pore volume as liquid water.

Open-File Report↗

USGS1975

Physical factors determining the fraction of stored energy recoverable from hydrothermal convection systems and conduction-dominated areas

This report contains background analyses for the estimates of Nathenson and Muffler (1975) of geothermal resources in hydrothermal convection systems and conduction-dominated areas. The first section discusses heat and fluid recharge potential of geothermal reservoirs. The second section analyzes the physical factors that determine the fraction of stored energy obtainable at the surface from a geothermal reservoir. Conversion of heat to electricity and the use of geothermal energy for direct-heating applications are discussed in the last two sections. Nathenson, Manuel, and Muffler, L.J.P., 1975, Geothermal resources in hydrothermal convection systems and conduction dominated areas, in White, D.E., and Williams, D.L., eds., Assessment of the Geothermal Resources of the United States--1975: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 726, p. 104-121, available at http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/cir/cir726

Open-File Report↗

USGS1974

Rise of a variable viscosity fluid in a steadily spreading wedge-shaped conduit with accreting walls

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Open-File Report↗