Geothermal Energy Resource Investigations at Mt. Spurr, Alaska
Spurr volcano is a composite Quaternary cone of largely andesitic composition located on the west side of Cook Inlet about 80 miles west of Anchorage and about 40 miles from the Beluga electrical transmission line. Geologic mapping (Plate 1-1) shows that the present summit depression was produced by...
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University of Alaska Fairbanks. Geophysical Institute.
1986
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ftunivnotexas:info:ark/67531/metadc1193685 2023-05-15T15:41:54+02:00 Geothermal Energy Resource Investigations at Mt. Spurr, Alaska Turner, D. L. Wescott, E. M. 1986-12-01 Pages: 115 Text https://doi.org/10.2172/7057121 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1193685/ English eng University of Alaska Fairbanks. Geophysical Institute. other: DE87005944 rep-no: UAG-R-308 grantno: FG07-84ID12471 doi:10.2172/7057121 osti: 7057121 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1193685/ ark: ark:/67531/metadc1193685 Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products Elements Geologic History Geophysical Surveys Geothermal Legacy Eruption Surveys 15 Geothermal Energy Nonmetals Usa Geothermal Legacy Volcanoes Alaska Geochemical Surveys Rare Gases Metals Helium Federal Region X Ice Geothermal Resources Fluids Gases Mercury North America Resource Assessment Electrical Surveys Resources Report 1986 ftunivnotexas https://doi.org/10.2172/7057121 2021-01-16T23:08:16Z Spurr volcano is a composite Quaternary cone of largely andesitic composition located on the west side of Cook Inlet about 80 miles west of Anchorage and about 40 miles from the Beluga electrical transmission line. Geologic mapping (Plate 1-1) shows that the present summit depression was produced by a Mt. St. Helens-type sector collapse, rather than by a caldera collapse. Geochronologic and previous tephrachronologic studies show that there has been an active magmatic system at Spurr volcano during the late Pleistocene-to-Holocene time interval that is of critical interest for geothermal energy resource assessment. Major effort was devoted to geochemical and geophysical surveys of the accessible area south of Mt. Spurr, in addition to geologic mapping and geochronologic studies. Many coincident mercury and helium anomalies were found, suggesting the presence of geothermal systems at depth. Extremely large electrical self-potential anomalies were also found, together with extensive zones of low resistivity discovered by our controlled-source audiomagnetotelluric survey. The juxtaposition of all of these different types of anomalies at certain areas on the south slope of Crater Peak indicates the presence of a geothermal system which should be accessible by drilling to about 2000 ft depth. It is also evident that there is a strong volcanic hazard to be evaluated in considering any development on the south side of Mt. Spurr. This hazardous situation may require angle drilling of production wells from safer areas and placement of power generation facilities at a considerable distance from hazardous areas. Report Beluga Beluga* Alaska University of North Texas: UNT Digital Library Anchorage |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of North Texas: UNT Digital Library |
op_collection_id |
ftunivnotexas |
language |
English |
topic |
Elements Geologic History Geophysical Surveys Geothermal Legacy Eruption Surveys 15 Geothermal Energy Nonmetals Usa Geothermal Legacy Volcanoes Alaska Geochemical Surveys Rare Gases Metals Helium Federal Region X Ice Geothermal Resources Fluids Gases Mercury North America Resource Assessment Electrical Surveys Resources |
spellingShingle |
Elements Geologic History Geophysical Surveys Geothermal Legacy Eruption Surveys 15 Geothermal Energy Nonmetals Usa Geothermal Legacy Volcanoes Alaska Geochemical Surveys Rare Gases Metals Helium Federal Region X Ice Geothermal Resources Fluids Gases Mercury North America Resource Assessment Electrical Surveys Resources Turner, D. L. Wescott, E. M. Geothermal Energy Resource Investigations at Mt. Spurr, Alaska |
topic_facet |
Elements Geologic History Geophysical Surveys Geothermal Legacy Eruption Surveys 15 Geothermal Energy Nonmetals Usa Geothermal Legacy Volcanoes Alaska Geochemical Surveys Rare Gases Metals Helium Federal Region X Ice Geothermal Resources Fluids Gases Mercury North America Resource Assessment Electrical Surveys Resources |
description |
Spurr volcano is a composite Quaternary cone of largely andesitic composition located on the west side of Cook Inlet about 80 miles west of Anchorage and about 40 miles from the Beluga electrical transmission line. Geologic mapping (Plate 1-1) shows that the present summit depression was produced by a Mt. St. Helens-type sector collapse, rather than by a caldera collapse. Geochronologic and previous tephrachronologic studies show that there has been an active magmatic system at Spurr volcano during the late Pleistocene-to-Holocene time interval that is of critical interest for geothermal energy resource assessment. Major effort was devoted to geochemical and geophysical surveys of the accessible area south of Mt. Spurr, in addition to geologic mapping and geochronologic studies. Many coincident mercury and helium anomalies were found, suggesting the presence of geothermal systems at depth. Extremely large electrical self-potential anomalies were also found, together with extensive zones of low resistivity discovered by our controlled-source audiomagnetotelluric survey. The juxtaposition of all of these different types of anomalies at certain areas on the south slope of Crater Peak indicates the presence of a geothermal system which should be accessible by drilling to about 2000 ft depth. It is also evident that there is a strong volcanic hazard to be evaluated in considering any development on the south side of Mt. Spurr. This hazardous situation may require angle drilling of production wells from safer areas and placement of power generation facilities at a considerable distance from hazardous areas. |
format |
Report |
author |
Turner, D. L. Wescott, E. M. |
author_facet |
Turner, D. L. Wescott, E. M. |
author_sort |
Turner, D. L. |
title |
Geothermal Energy Resource Investigations at Mt. Spurr, Alaska |
title_short |
Geothermal Energy Resource Investigations at Mt. Spurr, Alaska |
title_full |
Geothermal Energy Resource Investigations at Mt. Spurr, Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Geothermal Energy Resource Investigations at Mt. Spurr, Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Geothermal Energy Resource Investigations at Mt. Spurr, Alaska |
title_sort |
geothermal energy resource investigations at mt. spurr, alaska |
publisher |
University of Alaska Fairbanks. Geophysical Institute. |
publishDate |
1986 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.2172/7057121 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1193685/ |
geographic |
Anchorage |
geographic_facet |
Anchorage |
genre |
Beluga Beluga* Alaska |
genre_facet |
Beluga Beluga* Alaska |
op_source |
Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products |
op_relation |
other: DE87005944 rep-no: UAG-R-308 grantno: FG07-84ID12471 doi:10.2172/7057121 osti: 7057121 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1193685/ ark: ark:/67531/metadc1193685 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.2172/7057121 |
_version_ |
1766374787123249152 |