Valley of Geyser Reservoir and Kikhpinych Volcano form a joint magma-hydrothermal system, which is characterized by recent (500-1500 years ago) eruptions of Kikhpinych volcano and sub-caldera formation; shallow magmatic activity in area of 15 km² beneath, meteoric water and magmatic components (Cl, CO₂) recharge and convective thermal outflow from Kikhpinych structure in adjacent Valley of Geyser, two catastrophic landslides/mudflows of 2007 and 2014 were possibly triggered by Kikhpinych magmatic injections.

Chloride tracer, chemical geothermometer and local thermal-hydrodynamic modeling methods were applied to update hydrothermal outflow parameters (water, CO₂ and chloride mass rates, geyser erupted volumes, cyclic component of mass discharge, seasonal variations).

Then TOUGH2-EWASG model was used to reproduce 5000-year thermal-hydrodynamic history of the magma-hydrothermal system, followed by cold water infiltration aftermath of catastrophic events 2007 and 2014. This model explains: (1) Quasi-stationary conditions of enormous heat (180 MW) and mass (250 kg/s) discharge achieved in few thousand years; (2) Chloride discharge rate drops as a response to seasonal cold water infiltration; (3) Long term chloride concentration drops and geyser erupted volume rises after infiltration period starts.

geyser, Kikhpinych, hydrothermal, CO₂, modeling, infiltration, discharge, chloride tracer.

Received: October 16, 2024; Revised: November 30, 2024; Accepted: December 5, 2024; Published: January 4, 2025

How to cite this article: A. V. Kiryukhin, A. V. Sergeeva, O. O. Usacheva, V. Y. Lavrushin and I. V. Tokarev, Thermal-hydrodynamic modeling of the Valley of Geysers and Kikhpinych volcano magma-hydrothermal system, JP Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 38(1) (2025), 127-168. https://doi.org/10.17654/0973576325007

This Open Access Article is Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

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