Exploration of the genesis of regional geothermal resources in Guizhou Province

Regarding the genesis of the geothermal resources in Guizhou Province, most researchers tend to think that the geothermal resources were formed from the temperature rise induced by the mechanical energy of the “geothermal gradient“ controlled by seismic activities and faults and that the geothermal resources do not possess from magma heat sources nor have the conditions of radioactive heat generation. Based on the research on the previous achievements, the characteristics of geothermal reservoirs and cap rocks, and regional gravity and magnetic data, the inference of the deep faults and intermediate-acid and basic-ultrabasic rock masses, and the analysis of regional distribution characteristics of natural geothermal resources and geothermal wells, this study proposes two possible basic genetic models of the geothermal resources in Guizhou. One is that automatic temperature rise and cyclic heat generation caused by the “geothermal gradient“ controlled by deep faults. The groundwater with continuous temperature rise driven by this model is the most developed. The other genesis is the waste heat of magmatic rocks. It is inferred as a new type of heat generation and genesis supplement. As an important regional metallogenic region of uranium and thorium in China, Guizhou Province has only been researched at a low level and on a small scale, with a small amount of available data. Therefore, it is not clear whether there are basic conditions of radioactive heat generation in Guizhou Province. The in-depth study on the genesis of geothermal resources can provide relevant bases for the accurate surveys of geothermal resources and the expansion of prospecting direction in Guizhou Province in the future.