Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

Takigami geothermal system, northeastern

Kyushu, Japan
Shigetsugu Furuyaa,*, Michio Aokia, Hiroki Gotoha,
Teruo Takenakab
a

Idemitsu Oita Geothermal Co., Ltd, 2862-12, Nogami, Kokonoe-machi, Oita 8794802, Japan bNew Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization
(NEDO), 3-1-1 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 170-6030, Japan
Received 27 November 1997; accepted 30 August 1999

Abstract
The Takigami geothermal reservoir is bounded by a system of faults and
fractures oriented along two main directions, north to south and east to west.
The Noine fault has a large vertical displacement and trends north to south,
dividing the subsurface characteristics of resistivity, permeability, temperature
and reservoir depth. The Takigami geothermal uid has a near neutral pH and
is of the NaCl type, with a chloride content ranging from 400 to 600 ppm. The
southwestern part of the area has the highest subsurface temperature, up to
2508C. The deep uid originates from the southwest, and ow is mainly to the
north and partly to the east along faults and fractures, decreasing in
temperature with increasing lateral ow. # 2000 CNR. Published by Elsevier
Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Reservoir; Geology; Geochemistry; Takigami; Japan

1. Introduction

Central Kyushu is cut by a volcano-tectonic depression that has developed

within a tensile stress eld since the Neogene, resulting in Plio-Pleistocene
to

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Furuya).
0375-6505/00/$20.00 # 2000 CNR. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0375-6505(99)00059-0

S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

Recent volcanism (Hase et al., 1985). The northeastern part of Central

Kyushu, known as the Hohi region, is one of the most active
geothermal areas of Japan (Fig. 1). This geothermal region is associated
with a negative Bouguer anomaly referred to as the Shishimuta lowgravity area. The Takigami geothermal area is located on the eastern
margin of this gravitational low (Fig. 2). Although the Takigami system
lies within the very active Hohi geothermal region, there are no surface
manifestations in the immediate area. The nearest hot springs are
located 12 km north and east of the area (Fig. 3).
Geothermal exploration in the Takigami area started in 1979 with
various surveys and drilling, as discussed below. The 25 MW Takigami
power plant opened in November 1996 (Fig. 3). Idemitsu Oita
Geothermal Co., Ltd produces the geothermal steam and the Kyushu
Electric Power Co., Inc. generates electrical power from this steam. The
purpose of this paper is to review and discuss the geothermal structure
of the Takigami area based on information obtained from surface
surveys and well drilling.

Fig. 1. Map of the Hohi geothermal region, northeast Kyushu, showing the location of the
Takigami area, the major Quaternary volcanoes and the OtakeHatchobaru geothermal area.

192

S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

193

Fig. 2. Compiled gravity map (by NEDO) in and around the Takigami geothermal area ( Bouguer
anomalies: density=2.3 g/cm3, contour interval=5 mgals).

2. Geophysical exploration

In and around the Takigami area, gravity and electromagnetic

prospecting has been conducted since 1979, while resistivity logging
began in 1981 (Aoki, 1988). The Takigami area is located on the
eastern margin of a steep gravitational low. The easternmost part of
the geothermal area extends to a local gravitational high, while the
westernmost portion of the eld has a value close to 35 mgal (Fig. 2).

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S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

Fig. 3. Map showing the location of geothermal wells and hot springs around the Takigami area. The
cross-section line (XX') for Fig. 4 is also shown.

A north-to-south striking fault system was therefore thought to exist in the

area, related to the large-scale volcano-tectonic depression (Kamata, 1985).
Resistivity surveys and logging in wells show that the electrical
structure is composed mainly of three layers. The surface (rst) layer
has a resistivity of 30 500 ohm-m, the intermediate (second) layer
has an extremely low resistivity of 1 10 ohm-m, while the bottom
(third) layer is relatively more resistive than the second layer, and
ranges from 30 to 500 ohm-m. The three-layer structure extends
laterally in the area. The second, conductive layer is shallow and thin in
the east and deepens and becomes thicker to the west. This second
resistivity structure

S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

195

measureddown-holetemperatures,deducedisothermsandlocationof
thehot-waterentries(modiedfromYamamoto,1988).Lithologyisd

Table1.

Fig.4.Generalizedgeologiccr

Tuaceoussandstone/siltstone
Dacitelava/pyroclastics

196

S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

Tuaceoussandstone/siltstone
Andesitelava/pyroclastics
Lava/pyroclastics
Lava/brecciatedlava
TakigamiformationPlagioclasemegacrysticdacite

NeogenePlioceneUsagroupAndesitelava/pyroclastics

AjibaruformationHornblendeandesite
QuaternaryPleistoceneNoine-

Stratigraphyandlit

S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

197

Fig. 5. Conceptual geologic structure of the Takigami area. The traces of wells and faults, and the
locations of hot water entries to wells are shown.

correlates with a layer of pyroclastic rocks and a zone of strong hydrothermal

alteration.

3. Geologic setting
The subsurface geology of the area was studied from drill cores and
cuttings (Furuya, 1988; Yamamoto, 1988). A generalized geological
cross-section of the Takigami area is shown in Fig. 4(a). A thick layer of
Quaternary volcanic and associated rocks overlies the Tertiary Usa
Group. The Quaternary volcanic rocks are classied into four
formations from top to bottom, comprising the Noine-dake volcanic
rocks, and the Kusu, Ajibaru and Takigami Formations. These

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S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

Quaternary units consist of layers of andesitic or dacitic volcanic rocks.

The Tertiary Usa Group is composed mainly of altered andesite lava
ows and pyroclastic rocks that have been propylitically altered. Even
the deepest well in the area, TT-1 (3000 m), does not reach the PreTertiary basement rocks (Table 1). There are few outcrops of the deep
formations at the surface because young volcanic products cover the
area extensively.
The conceptual geologic structure of the area is shown in Fig. 5. Two
sets of fault/fracture systems were identied mainly from studies of
lineaments and correlation of subsurface stratigraphy. One system
strikes almost north to south, and the other east to west. The north-tosouth trending Noine fault zone is important because it divides the
area into eastern and western parts. The vertical displacement of the
faults in this zone is estimated to be more than 1000 m, based on a
comparison of the depths to the Usa Group on the western and eastern
sides of the fault zone. The Takigami Formation that overlies the Usa
Group is approx. 1000 m thick on the downfaulted western side, but it
is thin (approx. 200 m) on the eastern side of the Noine fault zone [Fig.
4(a)].
The east-to-west striking faults were conrmed by a study of surface
lineaments. One of these, the Teradoko fault, can be seen in the
outcrop. These east-to-west striking faults are estimated to have
smaller vertical displacements than those of the north-to-south striking
faults. High permeability zones and uid discharge points in wells of the
Takigami geothermal system appear to be located along both of these
fault sets.

4. Hydrothermal alteration
There are few areas of surface hydrothermal alteration. Samples of
drill cores and cuttings from the wells were studied mainly by X-ray
diraction analysis. Based on the classication of Utada (1980), the
subsurface alteration zones consist mainly of intermediate alteration
minerals [Fig. 4(b)].
This intermediate alteration type consists of four zones, i.e. the
zeolite, montmorillonite, mixed-layer clay minerals, and illite plus
chlorite zones. The locations of the upper limit of the zeolite minerals
laumontite and wairakite mimic

S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

199

200

S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

temperatureatanydepth.Thisisconrmedinallwellsinthearea.Stratigraph
yandalterationzonesa
temperatures(3),andboilingpoint-with-depthcurveforwater(BPCW
)areshown.Notethatthedow

Fig.6.TemperatureproleofNE-5well.Twomeasureddown-holetem

peratureprolesunderstaticc
structureofthethreelayersisshowntotheright.ST=standing

the current temperature contours, about 150 and 2008C, respectively.

These zones are also controlled by the geologic structure [Fig. 4(a) and
4(b)]. The intermediate alteration minerals are likely to be formed by
the present near-neutral pH geothermal uid that also precipitated vein
minerals such as anhydrite, calcite and the zeolite group minerals. In
particular, there is a large amount of laumontite and wairakite in and
around productive fractures (Hayashi et al., 1988).

Lessthan0
analyzedb
.1ppm.ytitration;otherresidualgasesanalyzedbygaschromatography.

S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

c

201

Acid alteration
minerals
such as pyrophyllite and kaolinite are found
Theliquidp
hasefromgeotherm
alwellswasseparatedatthesamplingt
ureandcollectedaftercooling.Nosteamlostfrom
in the area of the basin-like structure (Fig. 5). Theseemperat
acid minerals
are
inferred to have formed prior to the intermediate type of alteration,
since the distribution of acid minerals is not concordant with the
intermediate type of alteration minerals nor

SandCO
2

Totalgasconcentrationintotaldischargeiscalculatedfromgasconcentratio

ninsteam

ation.

Chemicalconcentrationofeachsampleanalyzed

Fig. 7. Subsurface temperature distribution in the Takigami geothermal area.

steamwasabsorbedbyKOHso

with the current temperature. These acid minerals occur only within the
Takigami formation and the Usa Group.
b

5. Subsurface temperature
The subsurface temperature distribution in the Takigami area was
estimated from the results of temperature recovery tests, shut-in
temperature and uid inclusion measurements.
Homogenization temperatures of uid inclusions are particularly
useful to estimate the pre-drilling subsurface temperatures at the
points of hot-water entry (Browne et al., 1976). Taguchi (1982) showed
that inclusions tended to have a wide range of homogenization

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S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

temperatures at a given depth in less active geothermal systems, with

the minimum temperature being quite close to the present
temperature. In the Takigami area, the minimum homogenization
temperature of uid inclusions at each depth agrees well with
measured temperatures (Fig. 6).
The thermal structure of the Takigami system is basically composed
of three layers. The rst layer is isothermal (508C) due to cold
meteoric water circulation. This layer corresponds to fresh and
fractured Quaternary volcanic rocks. The second layer is impermeable
and has a steep and constant thermal gradient of about 208C/100 m.
The temperature prole in this layer indicates that there is conductive
heat ow (Fig. 6). This layer corresponds to the montmorillonite and
mixed-layer clay zones. The third layer is characterized by high
temperatures that range from 1608C in the northeast to 2508C in the
southwest. Temperature logs of wells show convective proles in the
third layer. All measured and estimated temperatures lie below the
boiling point curve of water, indicating there is liquid only in the natural
system at the depths encountered by drilling. The third layer
corresponds to the Tertiary andesite lava ows (the Usa Group), and
correlates approximately with the illite-chlorite zones. The subsurface
temperature tends to increase towards the southwest, with the depth
of the third layer becoming deeper.
The temperature distribution indicates that the maximum
temperatures encountered by drilling in the area increase from the
northeast ( reservoir temperature of 1601708C) to the southwest
(2402508C), with the hottest zone in the vicinity of wells TT-13 and
TT-14 (Fig. 7).

6. Fluid chemistry
A geochemical model of the Takigami area was discussed by
Takenaka and Furuya (1991). Here we summarize the essential uid
chemistry of well discharges. The composition of well discharges,
discharge enthalpies and sampling temperatures are shown in Table 2.
The compositions of discharged steam from the production wells are
listed in Table 3.
The Takigami geothermal uid has a near-neutral pH and is of the NaCl type

concentrationofwaterslistedinTable2.Thefullequilibriumlineandtheregion

ofmmaturewater

S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

arefromGiggenbach(1988).Thegeothermalwellsareshownassolidcircles,
hotspringsasopencircles.

,HCO
4

203

204

S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

(Fig. 8; Table 2). The chloride concentration of the reservoir uid is

dilute, ranging from approx. 400 to 600 ppm (Fig. 9). This relatively low
salinity and the low non-condensable gas concentration in steam
characterize the Takigami geothermal uids (Tables 2 and 3).
All hot springs around the Takigami area are rich in bicarbonate. The
low chloride concentrations of these springs indicate that they are
heated but immature water [Fig. 8(a); Table 2], with only a small
component of deep uid in these surface discharges [Fig. 8(b)]. The
relative anion compositions of the well discharges show a linear
relation, with the relative concentration of sulfate increasing with
decreasing chloride concentration [Fig. 8(b)], indicating that the diluent
is relatively sulfate-rich. The well discharges of high chloride and low
sulfate concentrations have high enthalpies at the southwestern part of
the system. On the other hand, discharges of low chloride and high
sulfate correspond to lower discharge enthalpies associated with wells
in the central to northeastern part of the system.
An increase in the solubility of anhydrite with decreasing temperature
may be partially responsible for the increase in sulfate associated with
the decrease in temperature, since there is no evidence for a sulfaterich uid in the system at present. The anhydrite chemical
geothermometer indicates temperatures similar to other chemical
geothermometers and to the measured and enthalpy temperatures
(Table 4), indicating the geothermal uids are just saturated with
anhydrite. The Takigami reservoir varies systematically in uid
composition and in

Fig. 9. Chlorideenthalpy diagram of initial discharge compositions; C values are corrected

for steam loss from measured enthalpy temperatures. The e ect of dilution by water at
about 1008C can be seen.
Table 4
Comparison of discharge enthalpy, enthalpy temperature, and temperatures measured and
estimated from uid inclusion and chemical geothermometers
Sample
TT-1
TT-2

Enthalpy (kJ/kg)
871
846

TEa (8C)

Tmeas

TFIb

TQA

TCHc

TNKC

TCaS

212
199

212
205

207
203

216
204

209
196

194
201

198
200

O4c

TT-7
TT-8
TT-10
TT-13
TT-14
TT-16

946
925
758
1030
1013
1013

221
216
179
239
235
235

S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

217
209
216
203
213
217
215

222
212
215
215
169
184
191
180
163
200
246
237
248
250
244
235
238
234
245
236
248
250
241
233
245
241
232
234

a
Quartz (TQA), chalcedony (TCH) and alkali (TNKC) geothermometers are from Truesdell
(1983) and Giggenbach (1988), and anhydride (T CaSO ) from Marshall and Slusher (1968).
TE means temperate estimated from total enthalpy of discharged uid. b
These
homogenization temperatures are minimum values of measurements. c Temperatures for
geothermal wells are calculated from the total discharge concentration.
4

temperature from southwest to northeast (Figs. 8 and 9). A chlorideenthalpy diagram helps to determine geothermal processes, such as
mixing, boiling and conductive heat loss (Fournier, 1977). Chloride
concentrations of the well discharges are corrected for steam loss, and
the enthalpy of the deep uid, as plotted, is derived from the measured
temperature of the feed point of the well, or is calculated from
geothermometry of the well discharges (Table 4). The reservoir
compositions of uid discharged from the wells dene a dilution trend.
The highest chloride water occurs at a temperature of about 2508C,
whereas extrapolation of the dilution trend to zero chloride indicates a
diluent at a temperature of about 1008C (Fig. 9).
The southwestern part of the reservoir, with uid represented by the
discharge of TT-14, has the highest salinity (about 600 ppm Cl) and the
highest temperature (about 2508C) in the Takigami geothermal
system. This reservoir is located in the western, downfaulted zone and
is regarded as the parent reservoir uid in the geothermal system. The
uid in the central part of the reservoir has a lower salinity and
enthalpy compared to that in the southwest. The chloride
concentration is about 450 ppm and the temperature is about 2008C.
The lowest enthalpy uid comes from TT-10 in the northern area of the
Noine fault, and has a low chloride content (Figs. 5 and 9).

7. Framework of the Takigami geothermal system

The characteristics of the Takigami geothermal system are closely
related to the geological, mineralogical and hydrological control on the
three thermal layers, which in turn determine the subsurface thermal
structure. The highly permeable fracture system in the third layer,
which is regarded as a fractured type of

205

rms

206

S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

becausetheelevationofeedpointsisdierentfromthosefortheisothermsplo
ttedinthegure.

chemicaldatainthenorthernpart.ThechloridecontentofwellNE-5isalmost
thesam

S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

207

reservoir, is the channel for geothermal uid ow and provides feed points
to the wells.
The present subsurface horizontal uid ow pattern in the Takigami
area has been analyzed on the basis of geothermal indicators. The
distribution of chloride concentrations and the temperatures in the
deep reservoir are shown in Fig. 10. The iso-chloride contours indicate
that the chloride concentrations in the reservoir uid decrease from
southwest to northeast, as do the temperatures. The subsurface uid
probably ows in the same direction, southwest to northeast, and
maintains chemical and thermal equilibrium with alteration minerals
( Takenaka and Furuya, 1991). From the view point of reservoir
engineering, the Takigami geothermal system is best described as
having two parts, eastern and western. There are signicant
dierences in terms of subsurface temperature distribution, depth of
fractured reservoirs, and permeabilities. The boundary is probably the
Noine fault zone.
The eastern part of the reservoir system is shallow (7001100 m depth) and
has

Fig. 11. Three-dimensional block model of the Takigami geothermal system (view from the southeast).

well-developed fractures giving a high permeability (50100 darcy-m).

The temperature ranges from 160 to 2108C. On the other hand, the
western part of the reservoir is deeper (15002000 m depth) and has
a lower permeability (530 darcy-m) and higher temperature
(2302508C). This two-part reservoir accounts for the di erence in the
chemical composition of the geothermal uid, and the variation in the
hydrology and thermal structure of the system (Takenaka et al., 1995).

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S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

The reservoir evaluation of the Takigami system was made ve

times (phase 1 to phase 5) before starting commercial operation in
1996. The reservoir evaluation of phase 4 (in 1987) was composed of
long-term production-injection tests and a 3-dimensional simulation to
predict the change of pressure and temperature in the system
following exploitation (Fig. 11). The geothermal reservoir corresponds
to the same layer for production and reinjection, but communication
between them is small due to the low permeable zone suggested from
the interference tests of wells. The low permeable zone is estimated to
be located on the northeastern side

Fig. 12. Schematic cross-sectional model of the Takigami geothermal system (modied from
Takenaka and Furuya, 1991).

of the Noine fault, which results in the dierent trend of uid chemistry
for TT-10 and other wells (Fig. 9). Based on these tests, it was
concluded that a production of 1850 t/h of geothermal uid should be
able to be maintained for more than 30 years with little drop in
reservoir pressure and temperature in the production zone (Gotoh,
1990). Fig. 12 shows the schematic model of the Takigami geothermal
system in a southwest to northeast cross-section.

8. Conclusions
The characteristics of the Takigami geothermal system can be
summarized as follows (Fig. 12): Two types of fault/fracture occur in the
area. One has a northto-south strike with large displacement (Noine
fault zone). The other has an eastto-west strike with small

S. Furuya et al. / Geothermics 29 (2000) 191211

209

displacement associated with the movements of faults. The geothermal

reservoir is divided into two parts, the deeper, higher temperature
southwest portion and the cooler, more shallow and fractured
northeast portion. The southwestern reservoir uid has a high
temperature (about 2508C), high salinity (Cl, 600 ppm) and ascends
laterally towards the northeast. The uid in the central-to-northeastern
portion of the reservoir has a moderate temperature ( range from 200
to 2108C) and salinity (Cl, about 450 ppm). Based on the uniformity of
calculated and measured temperatures, chemical and thermal
equilibrium is maintained in the reservoir despite the relatively low
temperatures.
The geothermal uid ows toward the north and northeast from the
southwest. There is no evidence for any signicant boiling. During the
lateral ow the hot uid mixes with a low-chloride, sulfate-rich water
that has a temperature of about 1008C. The montmorillonite zone acts
as a cap rock and prevents shallow circulating groundwater from
penetrating deeper into the geothermal reservoir.

Acknowledgements
The authors thank Dr M. Sasada and Dr J.W. Hedenquist of the
Geological Survey of Japan for their valuable suggestions and
encouragement during this study. They also thank Professor M. Hayashi
(Kyushu Sangyo University), Professor S. Taguchi (Fukuoka University)
and sta members of the Idemitsu Oita Geothermal Co., Ltd for their
contributions.

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