Occurrence features of geothermal resources and geothermal potential assessment of Jiangxi Province

This paper is the result of geothermal geological survey engineering.

Objective Jiangxi Province, located in the Eastern China, is very rich in geothermal resources and possesses excellent potential for geothermal resources development and utilization.

Methods In the present study, the distribution features, type and hydrogeochemistry characteristics of geothermal resources and geothermal potential assessment of every city in Jiangxi Province is presented.

Results The geothermal resources of Jiangxi Province can be divided into circulation type hydrothermal system in the uplifted mountainous area and sedimentation basin type, of which the former has a high proportion of 95%. Circulation type hydrothermal system in the uplifted mountainous area is mainly distributed in Jiulianshan Mountain, Jiulingshan Mountain, Wugongshan Mountain and Luoxiaoshan Mountain Range, which is controlled by the deep faults surrounding the mountain.

Conclusions The distribution features of geothermal resources in Jiangxi Province is in agreement with the distribution features of geothermal gradient, surface heat flow and deep temperature field, and hydrogeochemistry type is dominated by HCO₃-Na type with relatively lower mineralization degree and salinity and is mainly sourced from precipitate water. The results of geothermal potential assessment suggest that Ganzhou and Yichun Cities possess the most abundant geothermal resources with each abundance being larger than 45000×10¹⁰ kJ.