Geothermal Surface Manifestations at the Hengill Volcanic System and Neighbouring Volcanic Systems (Southwest Iceland)

Abstract

Modern geological research in the larger Hengill region dates back to the early 1960’s and continues to this day. Much of this interest is associated with the utilization of the Hengill Volcanic System for electrical and space heating purposes. Two large co-generation geothermal power plants having been commissioned in the last 30 years. An intricate part of geothermal power production is geothermal surface monitoring, as well as regular gas sampling of fumaroles for reservoir temperature estimates. This has been conducted in the larger Hengill region since the early eighties and continues to this date. A large effort was made in 2007 – 2010 to map the entire region with respect to geothermal manifestations, eventually published in four large reports in 2011. The results presented here build upon these reports and include surface geothermal mapping with GPS tracking, physical measurements, gas collection, calculated reservoir temperatures, heat flux and gas flux.