Skip to main content

Relation between structure and low-temperature geothermal systems in Fukuoka city, southwestern Japan

Abstract

The Fukuoka area is located in the southwestern part of Japan. The Yokote-Ijiri area, located in the southern part of Fukuoka city, has several low-temperature geothermal systems, including eleven hot springs. From 1996 to 2008, the Fukuoka area was investigated by gravity survey, using Scintrex CG-3 and CG-3M gravimeters, in an attempt to delineate its subsurface structure. The surveys were intended to improve the understanding of the relation between the geothermal systems and the subsurface structure as well as to locate the active faults in the surveyed area, which are responsible for generating large earthquakes. The gravity data were analyzed using integrated gradient interpretation techniques, such as the Horizontal Gradient (HG), Tilt Derivative (TDR), and Euler deconvolution methods. With these techniques, many faults were detected, including the famous Kego fault, which is an active fault in Fukuoka city. A 2-D gravity model was constructed to show the relationship between the faults and the geothermal systems. The results of the present study will hopefully lead to an understanding of the relationships between the interpreted faults and the location of the low-temperature geothermal systems and possibly aid in future geothermal exploration of the area.

References

  • Cordell, L., Gravimetric expression of graben faulting in Santa Fe Country and the Espanola Basin, New Mexico, in Guidebook to Santa Fe Country, 30th Field Conference, edited by R. V. Ingersoll, New Mexico Geological Survey, pp. 59–64, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cordell, L. and V. J. S. Grauch, Mapping basement magnetization zones from aeromagnetic data in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, in The utility of regional gravity and magnetic anomaly maps, edited by W. J. Hinz, Soc. Explor. Geophys., 181–197, 1985.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Corner, B. and W. A. Wilsher, Structure of the Witwatersrand basin derived from interpretation of the aeromagnetic and gravity data, in Proceedings of exploration ’87, third decennial international conference on geophysical and geochemical exploration for minerals and groundwater, edited by G. D. Garland, Ontario Geol. Survey. Special, 3, 532–546, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fairhead, J. D., K. J. Bennet, R. H. Gordon, and D. Huang, Euler: Beyond the ‘Black Box’, 64th Ann. Internat. Mtg., Soc. Expl. Geophys., Expanded Abstracts, 422–424, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  • FitzGerald, D., A. Reid, and P. McInerney, New discrimination techniques for Euler deconvolution, Comput. Geosci., 30, 461–469, 2004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fujimitsu, Y., J. Nishijima, Y. Oba, and S. Ehara, Low temperature hydrothermal system in the southern area of Fukuoka city, Japan, Proceedings of the 38th Conference of Société Internationale des Techniques Hydrothermales and the 56th Annual Meeting of the Balneological Society of Japan, Beppu, Japan, 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geographical Survey Institute, http://www.gsi.go.jp/ENGLISH/, 2008.

  • Geological Survey Enterprises Association, Kyushu, Fukuoka Jibanzu, Geotechnical data of subsoil in Fukuoka, 1981 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Geological Survey of Japan (ed.), Gravity CD-ROM of Japan, Digital Geoscience Map P-2, Geological Survey of Japan, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirano, T., J. Nishijima, and Y. Fujimitsu, Estimation of fault structure using densed gravity survey data at Fukuoka city, Geothermal and Volcanological Research Report of Kyushu University, 15, 16–22, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang, D., D. Gubbins, R. A. Clark, and K. A. Whaler, Combined study of Euler’s homogeneity equation for gravity and magnetic field, 57th Conf. & Tech. Exhib., Euro. Assoc., Expl. Geophys, Extended Abstracts, 144, 1995.

  • Karakida, Y., S. Tomita, S. Shimoyama, and K. Chijiwa, Geology of the Fukuoka district, Quadrangle series, Scale 1∶50000, Fukuoka (14) No. 51, 1–192, 1994 (in Japanese with English abstract).

    Google Scholar 

  • Klingele, E. E., I. Marson, and H. G. Kahle, Automatic interpretation of gravity gradiometric data in two dimensions: vertical gradient, Geophys. Prospect., 39, 407–434, 1991.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marson, I. and E. E. Klingele, Advantages of using the vertical gradient of gravity for 3-D interpretation, Geophys., 58(11), 1588–1595, 1993.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matsushita, H., T. Miki, and A. Yamashita, An overturned structure observed in the southern part of Fukuoka city, The Science reports of the Shimabara Volcano Observatory, the Faculty of Science, Kyushu University, No. 7, 1–8, 1971 (in Japanese with English abstract).

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, H. G. and V. Singh, Potential field tilt—a new concept for location potential field sources, J. Appl. Geophys., 32, 213–217, 1994.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, J. D., Processing and interpretation of aeromagnetic data for the Santa Cruz Basin-Patahonia Mountains area, South-Central Arizona, U. S., Geological Survey Open-File Report 02-98, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reid, A. B., Short note, Euler magnetic structural index of a thin bed fault, Geophys., Published electronically, 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reid, A. B., J. M. Allsop, H. Granser, A. J. Millet, and I. W. Somerton, Magnetic interpretation in three dimensions using Euler deconvolution, Geophys., 55, 80–91, 1990.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reid, A., D. FitzGerald, and P. McInerney, Euler deconvolution of gravity data, SEG annual meeting, Dallas, 2003.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Talwani, M., J. L. Worzel, and M. Landisman, Rapid gravity computations for two-dimensional bodies with applications to the Mendocino submarine fracture zone, J. Geophys. Res., 64, 49–59, 1959.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, D. T., EULDPH—A new technique for making computerassisted depth estimates from magnetic data, Geophys., 47, 31–37, 1982.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warvelle, J., Stratigraphy and geologic time, edited by W. C. Brown Co, 113 pp., 1968.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilsher, W. A., A structural interpretation of the Witwatersrand basin through the application of the automated depth algorithms to both gravity and aeromagnetic data, M.Sc. thesis, Univ. of Witwatersrand, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hakim Saibi.

Rights and permissions

Open Access  This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Saibi, H., Nishijima, J., Hirano, T. et al. Relation between structure and low-temperature geothermal systems in Fukuoka city, southwestern Japan. Earth Planet Sp 60, 821–826 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352833

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352833

Key words