Geochemical evolution of geothermal fluids around the western Red Sea and East African Rift geothermal provinces

D, Chandrasekharam and A, Lashin and N, Al Arifi and A M, Al-Bassam and C, Varun (2018) Geochemical evolution of geothermal fluids around the western Red Sea and East African Rift geothermal provinces. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 164. pp. 292-306. ISSN 1367-9120

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Abstract

The geothermal provinces of the western Red Sea coast and East African countries have evolved synchronous with the evolution of the landmasses around the Red Sea. The Red Sea opening was initiated subsequent to the opening of the Aden Gulf that was triggered by the Afar plume. During the Late Oligocene, the Red Sea rift started extending from south towards north culminating into a failed arm near the Suez Gulf. The geothermal systems evolved due to shallow mantle below the Danakil depression and circulating seawater. Besides the volcanic flows, the regional sedimentary aquifers like the Wajid Sandstone and Amron limestone, that occur in Ethiopia, Egypt, Eritrea and Djibouti, that were deposited prior to the younger tectonic events that started at 31 Ma are the main geothermal reservoirs in these countries. In contrast, rain surface and evaporated lake water are the main sources for the Kenyan geothermal systems. Although these geothermal fluids show variation in their chemical components due to different recharging sources, all the geothermal systems are of high temperature, capable of generating electricity.

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