Millett, J.M., Rossetti, L., Bischoff, A. et al. (8 more authors) (2024) Lava flow-hosted reservoirs: a review. Geological Society Special Publications, 547. pp. 357-387. ISSN: 0305-8719
Abstract
Lava flows form important fluid reservoirs and have been extensively exploited for water aquifers, geothermal energy, hydrocarbon production and, more recently, for carbon storage. Effusive subaerial mafic to intermediate lava flows account for vast rock volumes globally, and form reservoirs with properties dictated by well-known lava flow facies ranging from pāhoehoe through several transitional forms to ‘a’ā lava. These variations in flow type lead to critical differences in the pore structure, distribution, connectivity, strength and fracturing of individual lava flows, which, alongside lava flow package architectures, determine primary reservoir potential. Lava flow margins with vesicular, fracture and often autobreccia-hosted pore structures can have porosities commonly exceeding 40% and matrix permeabilities over 10−11 m2 (>10 D) separated by much lower porosity and permeability flow interiors. Secondary post-emplacement physicochemical changes related to fracturing, meteoric, diagenetic and hydrothermal alteration can significantly modify reservoir potential through a complex interplay of mineral transformation, pore-clogging secondary minerals and dissolution, which must be carefully characterized and assessed during exploration and appraisal. Within this contribution, a review of selected global lava flow-hosted reservoir occurrences is presented, followed by a discussion of the factors that influence lava flow reservoir potential.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) |
Date Deposited: | 03 Oct 2025 13:02 |
Last Modified: | 03 Oct 2025 13:02 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | The Geological Society |
Identification Number: | 10.1144/sp547-2023-102 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:232410 |
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