A preliminary evaluation of the convective energy escaping from submarine hydrothermal chimneys

Hydrothermal submarine reservoirs contain an infinite energy potential. This deep submarine energy is related to the existence of hydrothermal vents emerging in many places along the oceanic spreading centers between tectonic plates. These systems have a total length of about 65,000 km in the Earth’s oceanic crust and are located at more than 2000 m below sea level. Shallow submarine geothermal heat is related to faults and fractures in the sea bottom close to some coasts. Shallow resources are found near to continental platforms between 1 and 50 m depth. Both types of resources exist, for example, in the Gulf of Calfornia, Mexico. The specific chemical characteristics of the submarine hydrothermal waters indicate that water-oceanic rock interactions occur at high temperature-pressure conditions. In this paper we present a description and preliminary estimation of the amount of geothermal energy contained in some submarine systems that is escaping through fissures in the oceanic floor. Hydrothermal fluid at 350400°C exits the seafloor at velocities of about 70 to 236 cm/s and mixes with seawater at 2°C. Thermal fluxes measured at some chimneys range from 1 to 93 MWT, with an average value for a single orifice of about 8 MWT. Some heat fluxes of about 1000 MWT have been estimated.