Quynh Phu – Hung Ha Geothermal System in Red River Delta, Vietnam: Geothermal Potential and Conceptual Model

Abstract

Quynh Phu – Hung Ha geothermal resource is located in the center of the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam, in an area of about 25 km2, the local people can easily get hot water of 45oC when drilled to the depths of 70 m. There are available application of geothermal water for swimming pool, spa, aquaculture, breeding farm here. The Red River Delta is covered by Neogene and Paleogene sediments, with the varied thicknesses, ranging from 0 to a few dozen, several hundred, some places to thousands of meters. The main fault systems those control the structure of the red river plain are the horizontal sliding normal faults of Red river and Lo river; the reverse fault of Vinh Ninh and Thai Binh, and the normal faults Chay River. The geothermal system here is believed to be convective - that is, meteorological water flows downward along Thai Binh fault and encounts a high temperature zone due to the cooling process of a magma block located deep below. After that the water is raised following Vinh Ninh fault channel and appeared in Pleistocene aquifer at the depth of more than 70m. Due to the upper confining bed of the Pleistocene layer, hot water is spread only below the confining bed of Pleistocene aquifer. An conceptual geothermal system has been trying to buil for a better understanding of geothermal resource and future exploration orientation.