A New Improved Proposal of the Na/K Geothermometer to Estimate Deep Equilibrium Temperatures and their Uncertainties in Geothermal Systems

Abstract

Cation geothermometers based on Na/K ratios are tools commonly used for predicting subsurface temperatures of geothermal systems under exploration and exploitation. Temperature estimates of cation geothermometers are usually inconsistent due to errors in calibrations, coefficients and chemical analyses. Large differences are still found between measured and predicted temperatures of geothermal wells. Such a problem has motivated several authors to develop new equations to reduce the geothermometer uncertainties. In light of these discrepancies, a new improved Na/K geothermometer has been developed using a world geochemical database together with advanced geochemometric techniques. The new improved Na/K geothermometer is given. The calibration of the geothermometer and validation, as well as some application examples are outlined in the present work.