| Title | Gravimetric Survey to Detect Geological Structures Involved in Thermal Water Circulation in the Italian Western Alps |
|---|---|
| Authors | Guglielmetti, Luca; Abdelfettah, Yassine; Comina, Cesare; Schill, Eva; Mandrone, Giuseppe |
| Year | 2011 |
| Conference | Geothermal Resources Council Transactions |
| Keywords | |
| Abstract | Two thermal sites are located in the south-western Alps at Bagni di Vinadio and Terme di Valdieri in the Argentera Massif which is is the southernmost of the External Crystalline Massifs of the Western Alps, right at the border between Italy and France. The Argentera massif provides an ideal site to investigate the potential of gravity measurements since the thermal anomalies reveal surface manifestations such as hot springs showing temperatures up to 72?C and reservoir temperatures estimated to be 130°C for the waters of Vinadio and 110°C for the ones at Valdieri. The geology and structural setting, however, is very complex and can be extrapolated to the subsurface only by structural investigations. In addition to the structural data that are already available from previous studies, a geochemical campaign has been lately carried out in 2009, in order to understand the circulation system also in comparison with previous geochemical studies in the region. In this study, we will present the interpretation of a gravity campaign that was carried out during summer 2010. One of the main goal is to investigate the geological structures at depth to identify any natural gravity anomaly and figure out if could be related to the circulation of hot waters or to the presence of a geothermal reservoir at depth. |