Conceptual Models of the Dixie Valley, Nevada Geothermal Field
Conference Paper: Conceptual Models of the Dixie Valley, Nevada Geothermal Field
Abstract
Many conceptual models of Dixie Valley and its geothermal field have been developed over the past 32 years. These document academia's and industry's struggle to understand what appears to be one of the simplest geothermal systems in the world. The first geological model in 1967 hypothesized nested grabens in the valley with multiple buried 60" dipping normal faults taking up much of the offset between the valley and the Stillwater range. A variety of geothermal models, mostly involving convection cells, were superimposed on the 1967 geological model for the next 16 years. In the mid 1980s the nested graben and convection cell concepts were discarded in favor of a single range-front fault model dipping about 53". Interestingly, recent seismic and gravity studies have reverted toward the original concept that a significant portion of the offset between the valley and mountain range is associated with buried piedmont faults. For a number of years it was believed that the development of permeable fractures in the reservoir was largely controlled by lithology with offsetting brittle rocks across the Stillwater fault being the preferred geometry. In the late 1990's regional in-situ stress studies led to the development of a permeability model wherein the highly permeable fractures forming the reservoir are oriented subparallel to the Stillwater fault and are critically stressed for normal faulting. Although not yet fully tested, this model would downplay the importance of offsetting granitic and gabbroic lithologies in controlling the location of large permeable fractures.
- Author
- Dick Benoit
- Conference
- GRC Annual Meeting; Reno, Nevada; 1999/10/17
- Published
- DOI
- Not Provided
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Citation
Dick Benoit. 1999. Conceptual Models of the Dixie Valley, Nevada Geothermal Field. In: GRC Transactions. GRC Annual Meeting; 1999/10/17; Reno, Nevada. Davis, California: Geothermal Resources Council; p. 505-511
Related Geothermal Exploration Activities
Activities (7)
- Conceptual Model At Dixie Valley Geothermal Area (Bell, Et Al., 1980)
- Conceptual Model At Dixie Valley Geothermal Area (Benoit, 1999)
- Conceptual Model At Dixie Valley Geothermal Area (Okaya & Thompson, 1985)
- Conceptual Model At Dixie Valley Geothermal Area (Parchman, Et Al., 1981)
- Conceptual Model At Dixie Valley Geothermal Area (Thompson, Et Al., 1967)
- Conceptual Model At Dixie Valley Geothermal Area (Waibel, 1987)
- Numerical Modeling At Dixie Valley Geothermal Area (Benoit, 1999)