Evaluation of Hydrogeochemical Properties and Reservoir Temperatures of Thermal Water Resources in Kavak (Seydışehır - Konya) Region

Abstract

The study area including Kavak village and its vicinity is located 13 km north of Seydişehir County, approximately 90 km southwest of Konya Province, Central Anatolia, and is one of the important geothermal resource areas. The main purposes of this study are to evaluate the hydrochemical characteristics of thermal water resources in the study area and to investigate reservoir temperatures. For this purpose, the pH, the electrical conductivity (EC), the temperature, the main anion-cation composition (Ca, Mg, Na, K, HCO3, CO3, SO4 and Cl) and SiO2 contents of the water samples taken from the study area were determined. The thermal spring and wells in the study area show neutral to slightly acidic with a pH of 6.44 to 6.78. A total discharge rate of the springs and wells varies between 0.1 and 185 l/s, electrical conductivity values vary from 2530 to 4150 µS/cm and the measured temperatures range from 21.5 to 45.80 °C. The thermal waters are of Ca-Na-HCO3 types. The carbonates within the Çaltepe formation are highly fractured and karstified and are assumed to be the main aquifer for thermal waters. In addition, fractured quartzite and marble units within the Seydişehir formation also act as aquifers for thermal and cold ground waters. Fine grained metasandstone, metasiltstone, and phyllite within the Seydişehir formation act as the cap rock, and the heat source of the thermal waters can be related to the high geothermal gradient of the Late Miocene- Pliocene aged Erenlerdağ volcanic rocks located in the east of study area. According to the various geothermometry results used in the study, reservoir temperature for the thermal water in the study area is ranging from 68 to 98 °C with low enthalpy.