Geothermal and ground water exploration on Maui, Hawaii, by applying D.C. electrical soundings

illmapsTwenty-one Schlumberger resistivity soundings were performed on the island of Maui. Analysis consisted of one-dimensional modeling using an automatic ridge-regression inversion algorithm (Anderson, 1979). The inversion results were compared with available well-log information and geologic maps in order to make geologic interpretations. The soundings were conducted primarily to estimate the depth to and the electrical resistivity of, seawater-saturated basalt for different parts of the island. The resistivity of seawater-saturated basalt on Maui ranges between 3.5 and 60 ohm-meters. The lowest values occurred near Ukumehame canyon, on the south rift zone of West Maui. In this area, which is the site of a warm water (33°C) well, the computed resistivity for seawater-saturated basalt is about 4 ohm-m. Using typical Hawaiian basalt porosity values of 15% to 25%, Archie's Law implies temperatures of between 62° and 171°C at depths below 200 meters in the Ukumehame area. Freshwater piezometric heads were estimated from the sounding data. The largest freshwater head (91 m) was obtained in Keanae valley. The inferred large volume of freshwater is perched on Keanae alluvial valley fill and is observed in a well (W100) towards the back of the valley. All other freshwater heads are under 4 m, indicating that the freshwater lens is rather thin near the coast at the areas surveyed.U.S. Department of Energy"This research was supported by a Department of Energy grant, No. DE-AC03-80SF10819 as a phase of geothermal assessment of the State of Hawaii.