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Geological profile of Huanglong Ravine (including observation spots No.1 to No.9). Qt/Qg, Quaternary tufa/glacial sand and gravel; Tss, Triassic sandstone and slate; CPl, Carboniferous-Permian limestone; C, Carboniferous limestone; D, Devonian slate and limestone; Sss, Silurian slate, intercalated with sandstone.
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Taking Huanglong Ravine and Kangding, Sichuan, and Xiage, Zhongdian, Yunnan, as examples, the authors summarize the hydrogeochemical
and carbon stable isotopic features of the geothermal CO2-water-carbonate rock system and analyze the CO2 sources of the system. It was found that the hydrogeochemical and carbon stable isotopic features of such a sys...
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Context 1
... series, at the source region of Huanglong Ravine within an area of nearly 10 km 2 , there is an outcrop of Late Palaeozoic limestone, mainly Upper Devonian to Carboniferous age. The subsequent Quater- nary glacial abrasion and their deposits have formed the present morphology. A simplified geological profile of Huanglong region is illustrated by fig. ...
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The calcareous tufa deposits in fresh waters are widely represented in the Iberian Peninsula, mostly related to springs from carbonate aquifers. Most studies on the geochemical modelling of the genesis of calcareous tufa consider the meteoric water percolating through the limestone aquifer is enriched in CO₂ by existing microbiological activity in...
Citations
... The average annual precipitation is 758.9 mm, while the average temperature is approximately 6 °C. Wind speeds range from 1 to 2.5 m/s (Liu et al. 2000;SGMBGST 2001;Zhang et al. 2012a). ...
... flowing into the Colorful Pool from 2015 to 2020 (Fig. 10e and Schedule 2), the water flow at Station 6 is relatively stable, changing around 6 L/s, the three downstream stations (Bridging Bridge-Yuye Spring, Yinfang Pool-Hanxiu Spring, Longquan Eye) have not shown significant changes in the first three years (Fig. 10a, b,c), but have suddenly increased in the past two years, which is speculated to be related to an increase in atmospheric precipitation. Additionally, the Ca 2+ and HCO 3 − concentrations in the source water of the Zhuanhua spring in the Huanglong Ravine remained relatively stable in 2000, 2007, and 2008, indicating that the source water provided sustained and stable materials for the Huanglong Ravine during this period (Liu et al. 2000;Wang et al. 2009). From 2011 to 2020, the Ca 2+ concentration increased in the Colorful Pool, while the HCO 3 − concentration decreased (Zhang 2022). ...
Travertine is the most important karst rock in the Huanglong Natural Scenic Area in China. This rock not only has ornamental value but also has scientific research significance. This study used four high-resolution images of the Huanglong Ravine from different periods to record the spatial evolution of climate, vegetation, and tourist activities from 2000 to 2022 and combined unmanned aerial vehicle orthophotos with high-resolution images to analyse the main reasons for the extension and change in the Huanglong Ravine colourful pool area from 2004 to 2020. The results showed that during the period from 2000 to 2022, the atmospheric precipitation in the Huanglong Scenic Area increased from 733 mm to 926 mm, the vegetation coverage increased from 95.76 to 96.92% due to the influence of precipitation, and the number of tourists increased approximately 8 times. These factors interacted with each other to increase the eutrophication of the water body in the area and inhibit the deposition of colourful travertine pools. Clearly, the degradation of the travertine pools occurred from 2004 to 2020, during which the extents of six of the nine pools in the region were reduced. Conversely, the pools have become more marshy to a certain extent, which is presumably caused by changes in the direction and flow of the water due to artificial diversion and rerouting of the trestle path in the scenic area. The data compiled in this study can be used as references for further conservation measures.
... These studies are mainly related to hydrogeochemical evolution, reservoir temperature and recharging sources of geothermal water (Shi et al., 2017;Luo et al., 2017;Wang et al., 2019;Guo et al., 2020). In studying the CO 2 source, previous investigations mainly used carbon isotope composition to conclude that CO 2 in the XSHFZ originated from the mixing of metamorphic and magmatic origins (Yang et al., 1999;Liu et al., 2000;Guo et al., 2017). ...
... It can be found that all samples are near the theoretical carbon isotope fractionation line in the HCO 3 and CO 2 system (Mook et al., 1974), suggesting that HCO 3 and CO 2 are in isotopic equilibrium at sampling temperature. In addition, Liu et al. (2000) presented δ 13 C values of DIC and travertine from two hot springs in Kangding geothermal field. The δ 13 C difference between DIC and travertine (∆ 13 C DIC-calcite ) is 2.5‰ and 4.1‰, respectively, consistent with the isotopic equilibrium values between DIC and travertine in the condition of sampling temperature. ...
A large number of gases are releasing from the medium-high temperature geothermal fields distributed along the large-scale strike-slip fault zones in the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, 11 hot spring water and the associated bubbling gas samples were collected along the Xianshuihe-Anninghe fault zones (XSH-ANHFZ) and analyzed for chemical and isotopic compositions. The \({\delta ^{18}}{{\rm{O}}_{{{\rm{H}}_2}{\rm{O}}}}\) and \(\delta {{\rm{D}}_{{{\rm{H}}_2}{\rm{O}}}}\) values indicate that hot spring waters are predominantly meteoric origin recharged from different altitudes. Most water samples are significantly enriched in Na+ and HCO3− due to the dissolution of regional evaporites, carbonates and Na-silicates. 3He/4He ratios of the gas samples are 0.025–2.73 times the atmospheric value. The 3He/4He ratios are high in the Kangding region where the dense faults are distributed, and gradually decrease with increasing distance from Kangding towards both sides along the Xianshuihe fault zones (XSHFZ). Hydrothermal fluids have dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations from 2 to 42 mmol L−1, δ13CDIC from −6.9‰ to 1.3‰, \({\delta ^{13}}{{\rm{C}}_{{\rm{C}}{{\rm{O}}_2}}}\) from −7.2‰ to −3.6‰ and Δ14C from −997‰ to −909‰. Combining regional geochemical and geological information, the CO2 sources can be attributed to deep-sourced CO2 from mantle and metamorphism of marine carbonate, and shallow-sourced CO2 from the dissolution of marine carbonate and biogenic CO2. The mass balance model shows that 11±6% of the DIC is sourced from the dissolution of shallow carbonate minerals, 9±8% formed by pyrolysis of sedimentary organic matter, 80±9% derived from deep metamorphic origin and mantle-derived CO2. Among them, the deep-sourced CO2 in Anninghe fault zones (ANHFZ) is merely metamorphic carbon, whereas ca. 12% and ca. 88% of the deep-sourced CO2 in the XSHFZ are derived from the mantle and metamorphic carbon, respectively. The average deep-sourced CO2 flux in the Kangding geothermal field is estimated to be 160 t a−1. If all the hot springs in various fault zones in the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau are taken into account, the regional deep-sourced CO2 flux would reach ca. 105 t a−1. These results show that the deep-sourced CO2 released from non-volcanic areas might account for a considerable proportion of the total amount of global deep-sourced carbon degassing, which should be paid more attention to.
... The exposed hot springs are distributed primarily in the Kangding, Litang, Batang, Xiangcheng, Ganzi, and Daofu regions (Liu et al., 2000). Approximately 60% of these springs have a middle or high temperature over 40°C. ...
The western Sichuan hydrothermal area is located at the northeastern margin of the eastern syntaxis of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is also the eastern end of the Mediterranean-Himalayan geothermal activity zone. There are 248 warm or hot springs in this area, and 11 have temperatures beyond the local boiling temperature. Most of these hot springs are distributed along the Jinshajiang, Dege-Xiangcheng, Ganzi-Litang, and Xianshuihe faults, forming a NW-SE hydrothermal belt. A geothermal analysis of this high-temperature hydrothermal area is an important basis for understanding the deep geodynamic process of the eastern syntaxis of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In addition, this study offers an a priori view to utilize geothermal resources, which is important in both scientific research and application. We use gravity, magnetic, seismic, and helium isotope data to analyze the crust-mantle heat flow ratio and deep geothermal structure. The results show that the background terrestrial heat flow descends from southwest to northeast. The crustal heat ratio is not more than 60%. The high temperature hydrothermal active is related to crustal dynamics processes. Along the Batang-Litang-Kangding line, the Moho depth increases eastward, which is consistent with the changing Qc/Qm (crustal/mantle heat flow) ratio trend. The geoid in the hydrothermal zone is 4–6 km higher than the surroundings, forming a local “platform”. The NW-SE striking local tensile stress zone and uplift structure in the upper and middle crust corresponds with the surface hydrothermal active zone. There is an average Curie Point Depth (CPD) of 19.5–22.5 km in Batang, Litang, and Kangding. The local shear-wave (S-wave) velocity is relatively low in the middle and lower crust. The S-wave shows a low velocity trap (Vs<3.2 km s‒1) at 15–30 km, which is considered a high-temperature partial melting magma, the crustal source of the hydrothermal active zone. We conclude that the hydrothermal system in this area can be divided into Batang-type and Kangding-type, both of which rely on a crustal heating cycle of atmospheric precipitation and surface water along the fracture zone. The heat is derived from the middle and lower crust: groundwater penetrates the deep faults bringing geothermal energy back to the surface and forming high-temperature springs.
... Hydrogeochemical survey of hot springs in western Sichuan before the 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake mainly focused on the origin of waters, the pollutions, the chemical classifications and the heat reservoirs in the sites surrounding Kangding county [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. The 8.0 earthquake occurred in Wenchuan county, Sichuan province, Southwest China on 12 May, 2008, following by hundreds of aftershocks with magnitudes higher than 3.0. ...
... The geochemical parameters of the samples from the springs nos. 16-17 and 19 about 200 kilometers showed evident increase trend before the Wenchuan earthquake [20,24,25]. The K + concentrations of the samples of the springs nos. ...
Hydrogeochemistry of 32 hot springs in the western Sichuan Province after the Wenchuan M S 8.0 earthquake was investigated by analyzing the concentrations of cation and anion and the isotopic compositions of hydrogen and oxygen. The water samples of the hot springs were collected four times from June 2008 to April 2010. Hydrogeochemical data indicated the water samples can be classified into 9 chemical types. Values of δ D and δ (18)O indicated that the spring waters were mainly derived from meteoric precipitation and affected by water-rock interaction and mixture of deep fluids. Concentrations of K(+)and SO4 (-) of the samples from the Kangding district exhibited evident increases before the Wenchuan earthquake, indicating more supplement of deep fluids under the increase of tectonic stress. The chemical and isotopic variations of the water samples from the area closer to the epicenter area can be attributed to variation of regional stress field when the aftershock activities became weak.
... The spring had high concentrations of Ca 2+ and HCO 3 À , high CO 2 pressures (>13,000 pa) and higher temperature relative to annual mean of air temperature, which are not likely to be produced by biological activity in the soil alone (about 250 and 750 mg/l, Wang et al., 2010). According to Liu et al. (2000) and Yoshimura et al. (2004), the CO 2 in the Huanglong Spring was mainly endogenic. The d 18 O and d 13 C DIC values of the spring water were about À12.34& and 0.0&, respectively, and were relatively stable, showing no seasonal change. ...
Water samples and modern endogenic (thermogene) travertine calcite deposited on plexiglass substrates in travertine pools and a ramp stream were collected along the Huanglong Ravine, Sichuan, SW China at regular ∼10 day intervals from early May to early November in 2010, including both wet and dry conditions. Temporal and spatial variations in the δ13C and δ18O values of the modern travertine were examined to understand their potential for paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental interpretations. It was found that δ13C and δ18O of travertine formed in the ramp stream were low in the warm rainy season and high in the cold dry season. Their positive correlation was mainly due to dilution and rainfall seasonal effects on δ13C and δ18O values, respectively, i.e., low δ13C values were caused by dilution by overland flow with depleted δ13C values and reduced CO2-degassing in the warm rainy season while low δ18O values of travertine were because of low δ18O values of water induced by seasonal variation in oxygen isotopic ratios of rainwater. Meanwhile, kinetic effect on oxygen isotopic fractionation during ramp travertine deposition existed and reduced this positive correlation. In contrast, the δ13C and δ18O values of the pool travertines displayed a converse behavior which was caused mainly by the temperature effect. Low δ18O values and high δ13C values in the warm rainy season were correlated chiefly with the higher water temperatures. Therefore, the δ13C and δ18O values of the travertine may be used for paleo-rainfall or paleotemperature reconstruction respectively. This study demonstrates that endogenic travertine, like epigenic (meteogene) tufa, may be a suitable candidate for high-resolution paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstructions. However, since travertines deposited under differing hydrodynamic conditions (e.g., pools with still water contrasted to fast flow streams) have different climatic responses, it is necessary to check the depositional facies of fossil travertine samples before they can be used for palaeoclimate (temperature and/or rainfall) reconstruction.
... According to the field observations, the dilution of the rainwater took effect via overland flow formed after heavy rainfall in rainy season. The overland flow influenced by soil CO 2 could have much lower d 13 C values than that of the spring S1-3 with endogenic CO 2 origin (Liu et al., 2000Liu et al., , 2003). It recharged into the canal (Fig. 1) and resulted in the decrease in the d 13 C values of DIC (Table 3) and thus of travertine in the rainy season. ...
Seasonal and spatial variations in the δ13C and δ18O values of the modern endogenic (thermogene) travertine deposited in a calcite-depositing canal at Baishuitai, Yunnan, SW China were examined to understand their potential for paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental implications. The sampling sites were set in the upstream, middle reach and downstream of the canal, and the modern endogenic travertine samples were collected semimonthly to measure their δ13C and δ18O values. It was found that both δ13C and δ18O values of the endogenic travertine were low in the warm rainy season and high in the cold dry season, and correlated with each other. The low δ18O values in warm rainy season were mainly related to the higher water temperature and the lower δ18O values of rainwater, and the low δ13C values are caused by the dilution effect of overland flow with low δ13C values in the warm rainy season and the reduced CO2-degassing of canal-water caused by the dilution effect of the overland flow. The linear negative correlation between the travertine δ18O (or δ13C) values and rainfall amount may be used for paleo-rainfall reconstruction if one knows the δ18O (or δ13C) values of the fossil endogenic travertine at Baishuitai though the reconstruction was not straightforward. It was also found that there was a progressive downstream increase of the δ18O and δ13C values of the travertine along the canal, the former being mainly due to the preferential evaporation of H216O to the atmosphere and the latter to the preferential release of 12CO2 to the atmosphere during CO2-degassing. However, the downstream increase of the travertine δ18O and δ13C values was less intensive in rainy season because of the reduced evaporation and CO2-degassing during the rainy season. To conclude, the downstream travertine sites could be more favorable for the paleo-rainfall reconstruction while the upstream travertine sites are more favorable for the paleo-temperature reconstruction. So, this study demonstrates that endogenic travertine, like epigenic (meteogene) tufa, could also be a good candidate for high-resolution paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstruction.
... At present, the big lakes almost disappear, but groundwater is still recharging the small lakes as spring water in Gurinai. The range of δ D and δ 18 O values from the spring water is the same as that of the groundwater in the Badain Jaran Desert, and this matches the evaporation line [8,9] , showing the same recharge source. ...
Field observations demonstrate that calc-sinters occurred in the lakes of Badain Jaran Desert. 87Sr/86Sr ratios, 14C, δ
13C and mineral compositions of calc-sinters, and 3He/4He, 4He/20Ne, δ
18O, δD, pH and TDS of water from springs and lakes are analyzed in detail. The results indicate that the lake water is supplied through deep fault zone. The “kernel” of stabilized dunes in the Badain Jaran Desert perhaps consists of calc-sinters and calcareous cementation layers. Deep-seated groundwater effuses from this “kernel” and recharges to lakes in desert. Precipitation and snowmelt water from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is fed into the Badain Jaran Desert, Gurinai, Wentougaole and Ejinqi areas through the Xigaze-Langshan Fault zone. The isotopic compositions of groundwater in the Alax Plateau are abnormal due to the strong evaporation of the Gyaring and Ngoring lake water in the headstream of the Yellow River. Groundwater dissolves dissoluble fractions of rocks during its transportation through the fault zone and flows out of the mouth of spring in the Badan Jaran Desert. The dissoluble fractions are finally developed into calc-sinters and calcareous cementation layers around the spring. Calci-sinters are gradually largened and eventually emerge on the surface of lake water. Eolian sands accumulate on the surfaces of calc-sinters and calcareous cementation layers, and eventually develop into dunes. Invasion of magma causes an increase in the temperature of groundwater within the faults. Groundwater evaporation provides water vapor for the formation of humid stabilized dunes during its upwelling. Rhizoconcretions found in Yihejigede indicate that the dune was formed and remained immovable 4700 years ago. The height of the megadunes is proportional to thermal quantity carried by the groundwater.
... Variations in d 13 C, which correlate well with d 18 O (r = 0.75;Fig. 8), are controlled by spring–summer seasonal dilution in d 13 C of spring[HCO 3 ) ], which is mainly related to deep source CO 2 , and much higher than that of epikarst spring[HCO 3 ) ], the latter being controlled by soil CO 2 (Liu et al. 2000). Extreme climatic events, such as drought and floods, appear as anomalies in both the d 18 O and d 13 C curves (Fig. 7). ...
A continuous high-resolution (monthly) record of stable isotopes (δ13C and δ18O) in a well-laminated freshwater travertine deposited at Baishuitai, SW China from May 1998 to November 2001 was presented. The travertine exhibits clear annual bands with coupled brown/white color laminations. Throughout field investigation, it was found that the thin (1.5–2.2mm), brown porous lamina was formed in the monsoonal rainy season from April to September, whereas the thick (5–8mm), dense white lamina was formed in the dry season from October to March. The comparisons of lamina thickness and stable isotope signals in the travertine with the meteorological records allow us to constrain the relevant geochemical processes in the travertine formation under different climate conditions and to relate climate variables to their physicochemical proxies in the travertine record. Sympathetic variations in lamina thickness, δ13C and δ18O along the sampled profile reflect changes in hydrogeochemistry, showing that thin lamina and low δ13C and δ18O values occur in warm and rainy seasons. The decreased amount of calcite precipitation and low δ13C values during the warm and rainy seasons is caused by dilution of overland flow after rainfall. The low δ18O values are believed to be related to the rainfall amount effect in subtropical monsoonal regions. This process is thought to be markedly subdued whenever the amount of rainfall is lower than a given threshold. Accordingly, distinct minima in lamina thickness, δ13C and δ18O are interpreted to reflect events with above-average rainfall, possibly heavy floods, and vice versa. This study demonstrates the potential of freshwater travertine to provide valuable information on seasonal or even monthly rainfall variations.
... Furthermore, d 13 C values of carbon dioxide in the Kangding district, XFZ, vary from K9.95 to K3.34‰ with a difference of 6.6‰ that might be caused by isotope exchange among CO 2 , CO 3 2K and CHO 3 K during ground water migration and deposition of carbonate and travertine. Spring waters in the Kangding district chemically belong to the types Na-HCO 3 or CaNa-HCO 3 Cl; their PH values have a narrower range of 6.32–7.2, a higher partial pressure of carbon dioxide (Table 2), and d 13 C values of carbonate (3‰) and travertine (0.9–6.9‰) (Liu et al., 2000). The carbon isotopes fractionate between the pairs of CO values of 8.2, 5.5 and 2.6‰, respectively (Emrich et al., 1970). ...
... The d 13 C values of carbon dioxide from hot springs in three earthquake zones of Xianshuihe, Anninghe andTable 2 Chemical compositions of some spring waters in Kangding, Sichuan (Liu et al., 2000 Lunmengshan in Western Sichuan have a range of K3.34 to K17.09‰. The 3 He/ 4 He ratios exhibit a wide range from 1.5!10 K8 to 3.63!10 K6 . ...
The origins of gases from hot springs and earthquake activity in the western part of Sichuan Province, Southwestern China, are discussed in terms of helium and carbon isotopes and energy released by earthquakes. δ13C values of CO2 in free and dissolved gases range from −3.34 to −17.09‰, and 3He/4He ratios vary from 1.5×10−8 to 3.63×10−6. The isotopic compositions indicate that carbon dioxide from the hot springs is a mixture of crustal and mantle CO2, and helium is derived from the crust, mantle and atmosphere. The thermal springs in different earthquake and/or fault zones, as well as in different parts of the same zone, have different values of δ13C and 3He/4He. The more tectonically active the district is, the larger the δ13C and 3He/4He values and the greater the frequency of earthquakes. This means that more heat energy is derived from the deep earth with upward migration of anatectic fluids in the active-tectonic district, such as in the Kangding district. Therefore, hot spring gases (He, CO2 etc.) may be important geochemical markers for determination of seismological and tectonic activity.
The global Calcium (Ca) cycle is closely coupled to the carbon cycle, and Ca isotopes have potential in tracing it. Even though groundwater is one of the main reservoirs of Ca at the Earth's surface, few data are available for groundwater, and the behavior of Ca and its isotopes in geothermal systems remains unknown. Here we analysed the stable Ca and radiogenic Sr isotope compositions of thermal waters distributed along the Jinsha and Yalong river valleys in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. The Ca isotopic composition of the thermal water ranges from 0.45 to 2.16 ‰ (δ44/40Ca values relative to SRM 915a). The thermal waters collected from carbonate aquifers have higher δ44/40Ca values than bedrocks, which was attributed to secondary carbonate precipitation accompanied by CO2 degassing. In contrast, δ44/40Ca values in thermal waters collected from clastic and igneous rocks are similar to bedrock. Despite some thermal waters undergoing secondary silicates formation and CaNa ion exchange, such processes maybe not play a significant role in governing the Ca isotopic composition of these thermal waters. This suggests that Ca isotopes can be used to trace secondary carbonate precipitation driven by CO2 degassing (e.g. travertine) in geothermal systems located in tectonically active areas.
