The eastern Tibetan Plateau geothermal belt, western China: Geology, geophysics, genesis, and hydrothermal system

Abstract The eastern Tibetan Plateau geothermal belt (ETGB), which is located in 98–102°E, 28–32°N, belongs to the eastern part of the Mediterranean–Himalayan geothermal belt. Recently, about 248 natural hot springs have been found in the ETGB. > 60% of these springs have temperatures of > 40 °C, and 11 springs have temperature above the local water boiling point. Using the helium isotopic data, gravity, magnetic and seismic data, we analyzed the thermal structure and the relationship between hydrothermal activity and geothermal dynamics of the ETGB. Results show that: (1) the 248 springs can be divided into three geothermal fields: Kangding–Luhuo geothermal field (KGF), Litang–Ganzi geothermal field (LGF) and Batang–Xiangcheng geothermal field (BGF). The BGF and LGF have hot crust and warm mantle, and are characterized by the higher heat flux (66.26 mW/m2), and higher ratios of crust-derived heat flux to total flux (47.46–60.62%). The KGF has cool crust and hot mantle, and is characterized by the higher heat flux and lower Qc/Qm; (2) there is a relatively 4–6 m higher gravimetric geoid anomaly dome which is corresponding with the ETGB. And in hydrothermal activity areas of the BGF and LGF, there is a northwest – southeast-trending tensile stress area and the upper–middle crust uplift area; (3) an abnormal layer exists in the middle–lower crust at a depth of 13–30 km beneath the ETGB, and this layer is 8–10 km thick and is characterized by lower velocity (Vp   2.5), high conductivity (~ 10 Ω·m) and high temperature (850–1000 °C). Finally, based on the heat source and geological and geophysical background, we propose Kangding-type and Batang-type hydrothermal system models in the ETGB.

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