Center for Hydrogeology and Geothermics (CHYN), University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, 2000, Switzerland.
ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
Sci Rep. 2023 Mar 21;13(1):4625. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-31627-3.
Intruding magma brings high temperatures close to the surface, thus offering possibilities for harnessing large amounts of heat for geothermal exploitation. Mount Aso in southern Japan showed frequent volcanic activity during 2016, accompanied by significant earthquake activities with tens of thousands of aftershocks (Kumamoto sequence). Here we investigate the influence of earthquake/volcanic activity on the future productivity of nearby geothermal power plants to determine whether the activity is detrimental or beneficial to energy exploitation. Model results show an increase in [Formula: see text] pressure and temperature with a spatio-temporal correlation between modeled earthquake locations and aftershock decay rates along the entire sequence, showing that seismic activity opened pre-existing vertical cracks providing pathways for the ascending magma. Interestingly, the minor but still significant eruption of Mount Aso in October 2021 may have enhanced future geothermal power generation, indicating a vigorous and active system, possibly increasing the future geothermal power production.
侵入的岩浆将高温带到接近地表的位置，从而为地热开发提供了大量热能的利用可能性。日本南部的雾岛在 2016 年频繁发生火山活动，伴随有数千次余震的强烈地震活动（熊本地震序列）。在这里，我们研究了地震/火山活动对附近地热发电厂未来产能的影响，以确定该活动对能源开发是否有害或有益。模型结果表明，[Formula: see text]压力和温度增加，并且在整个序列中，模拟地震位置与余震衰减率之间存在时空相关性，表明地震活动打开了预先存在的垂直裂缝，为上升的岩浆提供了通道。有趣的是，2021 年 10 月雾岛的轻微但仍然显著的喷发可能增强了未来的地热能发电，表明这是一个充满活力和活跃的系统，可能会增加未来的地热能产量。
