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Heat Transfer From Convecting Magma Reservoirs to Hydrothermal Fluid Flow Systems Constrained by Coupled Numerical Modeling
Author(s) -
Andersen Christine,
Weis Philipp
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2020gl089463
Subject(s) - hydrothermal circulation , geology , magma , petrology , convection , heat transfer , fluid dynamics , geothermal gradient , thermal fluids , magma chamber , convective heat transfer , volcano , geophysics , geochemistry , thermodynamics , seismology , physics
Magma flow, heat conduction, and hydrothermal fluid flow control the heat transfer through the upper crust. Magmatic‐hydrothermal activity is essential for the utilization of geothermal energy, formation of ore deposits, and predictions of volcanic hazards, but the interplay between magmatic and hydrothermal processes is not well constrained due to the lack of adequate scientific tools. Simulation results from our novel coupled numerical model resolving both magma (Navier‐Stokes) and hydrothermal (Darcy) flow quantify the influence of magma convection and rock permeability on energy transfer. Convection of a hot‐dry rhyolitic magma has an accelerating effect of up to 15% on the cooling of the reservoir by enhancing the heat transfer toward the magma‐hydrothermal interface. However, at high permeabilities and high brittle‐ductile transition temperatures, magma flow can also have a secondary decelerating effect, because it prevents efficient permeability creation and entrainment of hydrothermal fluids at the edges of the magma reservoir.