geo thermal springs

Journal of Energy, Environment & Carbon Credits

Volume 1, Issue 1, Sep, 2011, Pages 1-15.

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STM Journals 2011. All Rights Reserved. 1

Indian Hot- Water Springs: A Birds Eye View Satpal Singh Bisht

1*, Nagendra Nath Das

1 & N. K. Tripathy

2

1Dept. of Biotechnology, Roland Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Berhampur, Orissa, India-

760010 2Department of Zoology, Berhampur University, Orissa.

*

Author for Correspondence E-mail: [email protected]

Introduction

The geo-tectonic setup of India, the fault

map zones and the epicenter of seismicity

indicate about the anomalous nature of

different types of geothermal distributions.

Geological Survey of India had identified

340 Hot-water springs which are

characterized by orogenic activity.

Geothermal Studies in India taken place by

Schiagintweit who documented 99- Hot-

water springs in India in 1864 (1). R. D.

Oldham in 19th

century published an

inventory of three hundred thermal springs

India (2). La Touch published a list of

mineral springs in 1918 (3). Subsequently,

studies on the hot springs were carried out

by Heim and Ganssar (1938) (4),

Pranvananda (1949) (5), Ghosh (1954) (6),

Chatterjee and Guha (1964) (7).

The Ministry of Power and Irrigation of our

country constituted a committee on 'Hot

Springs' in 1963 to explore the commercial

potential of thermal or Hot-water springs

which was comprised of members from the

GSI, NGRI (National Geophysical Research

Institute) and Jadavpur University (Kolkata)

(8).

All the Hot-water Springs of India were

classified on the basis of their geo-tectonic

setup and grouped into six Geothermal

Provinces as follows: (a) Himalayan

Province - Tertiary Orogenic belt with

Tertiary magmatism, (b) Areas of Faulted

blocks Aravalli belt, Naga-Lushi, West coast

regions and Son-Narmada lineament. (c)

Volcanic arc - Andaman and Nicobar arc.

(d) Deep sedimentary basin of Tertiary age

such as Cambay basin in Gujarat. (e) V.

Radioactive Province - Surajkund,

Hazaribag, Jharkhand, (f) Cratonic province

peninsular India (9).

Abstract

Indian subcontinent atlas with respect to its geo-thermal domain and tectonomagnetic history

provides immense data on geothermal reservoirs in the term of Hot-water Springs. However

relatively less research exploitations are documented as compared to the other countries. The

research activities with reference to the Hot-water Springs are scanty from Indian Sub-

continent. This review is an attempt to place the information on Indian hot water springs at a

glance to the wide range of readers.

Keywords: Hot-water Springs, Mythology, Geological Survey of India (GSI), origin of hot

water springs, geo-tectonic activities, Bioprospecting.



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Fig. 1: Geothermal provinces of India (Hot-Spring occurrence area represented by cylindrical

boxes).

Fig. 2: Geothermal provinces and regional heat flow pattern in India showing black spots as

geothermal fields.



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A hot water spring or a hydrothermal spring

is a place where warm or hot groundwater

comes out from the earth on a regular basis

for at least a predictable part of the year and

is significantly above the ambient ground

temperature. The heated water can hold

more dissolved solids, warm and especially

hot springs also often have a very high

mineral content, containing everything from

simple calcium to lithium, and even radium

based on the geographical site and location.

The hot water bodies are been much more

noticed for folklore less for the proven

medical value and repository of the various

thermophiles, they are often popular as

tourist destinations, and locations for

rehabilitation clinics for those with dermal

problems. The Bioprospecting value of hot-

water springs related to microbial diversities

is now growing importance in Textile,

Paper, Leather, Oil refineries,

Pharmaceuticals, Dairy based industries. In

this modern era of biotechnology, the

enzyme industry has undergone

comparatively with slower growth then

expected. This is due to the non-

availabilities of variety of thermostable

enzymes which are found in such extreme

environments; therefore this area of research

needs more attention from the industry and

academia.

The close link between the origin of Hot-

water Springs with reference to seismicity

levels of earthquake frequencies in Indian

Plateau. Microbial life existences in such

extreme environments play a vital role in

studying the origin of earlier life during

initial periods of evolutions of Earth. (Fig. 1,

Fig. 14)

Fig. 3: Seismic zoning map of India (on lines of IS: (1893-1970))



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Fig. 4: Merged Photo of Figure 2 and Figure 4 (without colour).

Fig. 5: Merged photo of Figure 2 and Figure 4 (with colour for zonal identification).



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Importance of Hot-Water Springs

The change that reflects the diagenesis in

Hot-water Springs is critical factor to

distinguish the evolutionary trends of

archeal development in particular when

comparisons are made to modern

prokaryotes. The tectonic faults arise due to

seismic activity in Indian plateau which lead

to metamorphic changes in deep biosphere

of rocks, present under fault lines of

geographical map of India. Indo-Eurasian

collision resulted in the flexure of the Indian

plate which responsible for sporadic

earthquake occurrences within the Indian

plateau (10).

Fig. 6: Tectonic Fault Map of India indicating different zone-wise faults.

Major Hot-Water Springs of India

State-wise data of selected locations of Hot-

water springs in India are as follows:

Jammu and Kashmir: Puga and

Chhumathang geothermal fields are located

at altitudes of 4000 and 4400 m in Ladakh

district, along Leh-Chusul road, about 180

km and 150 Km, respectively from Leh

town. Puga geothermal field `07`hot-water

springs (~840 C), Chhumathang geothermal

field:-`06`hot-water springs (870 C) (13).

Himachal Pradesh: Beas Valley:`08`hot-

water Springs (300-57

0 C), Parbati Valley:-

`06` hot-water Springs (210-150

0 C), i.e., a)

Mannikaran (860-94

0 C) b) Khirganga (150

0

C), c) Kasol (1000

C) d) Awas (580

C). Satluj

and Spiti Valley:- 12 hot-water springs (230

C-730 C), i.e., a) Tapri (Hot Water is NaCl

type), b) Chuza-Sumdo (230 C-59

0 C), c)

Tattapani (located at Mandi district and 51

km from Shimla), d) Garam Kund (Near

Bhatwari), e) Vasisht (1100 F -123

0 F) (13).

(Figure 9)



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Fig. 7: North-Indian Region Hot-springs of India (Geothermal manifestations in Himalayas)

Uttarakhand: Yamunotri Spring Here, traditionally, one can cook rice by packing it

in a cloth and dipping in the hot-water.

Pilgrims take this cooked rice as `Prasad`.

Another Surya Kund (Near Rudra Prayag),

Tapt Kund- Natural hot-water spring on the

bank of the river Alaknanda, where it is

customary to take bath before entering

Badrinath Temple Gauri Kund located near 05 kms to Sonprayag, during travel to

Kedarnath. Another Bhagirathi Valley

(Uttarkashi District)-06 hot-water Springs,

i.e., a) Gangnani (30``54` N, 78`` 41` E ),

(620 C); b) Bhukki (30`` 52` N,78`` 39` E),

(350C 450C), c) Songarh (270C) , Darma

Valley (Pithaurgarh District) 01 hot-water Spring at (30``04`N, 80`` 30`E). Madhya

Maheswar Valley: hot-water springs have a

Maximum temperature of 940 C, (13) Uttar

Pradesh: Sastradhara -A cold sulphur

spring in Deheradun Valley (13). Sikkim:

(All hot-water Springs temperature above

500

C), a) Phurchachu b) Yumthang (135

km.from Gangtok), c) Borang, d) Ralang e)

Taram Chu, f) Yumey-Samdong (13).

Arunanchal Pradesh: a) Dirang (West

Kameng District), b) Kitpi Hot- water spring

near Greng Vilage of Tawang District, c)

Bhalukpong Hot- water Spring 58 km from

Tezpur (Fig. 7) (13 and 17). Meghalaya:

Jarkem (64 km. from Shillong) (13).

Haryana: Sohana Thermal Area near

Gurgaon (33 Bore Holes) (13). Punjab: No

Database on Hot-water Springs (13).

Gujarat: a) Tulsishyam (Junagarh District),

b) Tuwa hot water Spring c)Unani (Surat

District) (13), Rajasthan: Occurrence up to

14 hot-water Springs (contain Sulphur

amount more) (Figure 6) (13) Bihar: a)

Rajgir b) Munger District hot-water Springs

i.e., 1) Bharani. 2) Bhimbandth Group 3)

Hingania Group 4) Remeshwar-

Lakshmiswar-Bhowarh Kund Groups 5)

Rishikund Group 6) Sitakund-Phillips Kund

Group 7) Sringrishi Group. All are not more

than 45 0C temperature range (13). Assam:

Gelepung (13).



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Fig. 8: Map showing the location of the hot springs in Arunanchal Pradesh

Fig. 9: Location of Marine Magnetotelluric stations deployed in Gulf of Kutch.



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Fig. 10: West Coast thermal springs covering Cambay Province.

Maharashtra: a) Unkeshwar (30 0 C 40 0

C) lies in Nanded and Yeotmal District, b)

Akoli (near Thane District), c) Vajreshwari

Hot-water Spring (34 km. from Thane), d)

Ganeshpuri i, e) Satvali, f) Sahada and

Chopda (lies near Nandurbar District), g)

Kundwa (440C), h) Unabdeo (60

0C), i)

Ramtalab (40 0C), j) Indave (41

0C), k)

Khadgaon (38 0C), (Fig. 10 and 11) (13)

Madhya Pradesh: a) Dhuni Pani (near

Amarkantak), b) Tattapani hot water Spring

situated in Surguja District (81 0

C 36 0 C /

km), c) Salbardi region of hot-water Springs

of Betul District (38 0

C 42 0 C), d)

Chavalpani near Panchmarhi, e) Anhoni-

Samoni area hot-water springs situated in

Chhindwara-Hosangabad (30 0C to 42

0C but

in some cases 50 0 C to 53.2

0 C) (Figure 8

and 10) (13). Odisha: a) Atri (Sulphur

Spring near Khorda and 42 km. from

Bhubaneswar, mostly 55 0 C), b) Deluajhari

(Sulphur Spring near Athamalik in the

District of Angul), c) Taptapani (Sulphur

Spring and located 51 km. far from

Berhampur) (Fig. 15), d) Tarabalo ( Hot-

water Spring far from 75 km. from

Bhubaneswar and favourite place for picnic-

spot) (13).



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Fig. 11: Map showing Hot water spring locations in Central India (Maharashtra+ +M.P.)

Fig. 12: Borehole discharge at Tattapani Geothermal field, Surguja district, M.P.



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West Bengal: a) Bakreswar Hot-water

Spring (690

C), (Table 1 and Table 2) b)

Tantloi Hot water Spring (660

C), c)

Kendughata Hot-water Spring (650 C), d)

Bholeghata Hot-water Spring (420

C), e)

Tantni (620 C) (Figure 5 ) (13 ad 18)

Jharkhand: Hot-water Springs contain high

concentrations of Fluoride. a) Tatta Hot-

water Springs (Palamu District, 61 0

C- 65 0

C), b) Jarom (50 0

C to 57 0 C), c) Surajkund

of Hazaribag District (880 C ), d) Lakshmi

Kund of Hazaribag District (53 0 C), e)

Brahma Kund of Hazaribag District (45 0 C),

f) Ram Kund of Hazaribag District (62 0 C),

g) Sitakund (53 0

C), h) Bagodar of

Hazaribag District (13).

Table 1: Percentage composition of type-II spring bubble gases from hot springs in the

BakreswarTantloi geothermal area.

Spring Number of

(Temperature) 0

C analysis He N2 Ar CO2 CH4 O2 H2

Bakreswar (69) 455 1.8 90 26 2.0 27 0.8 50 ppm

Tantloi (66) 86 1.5 92.5 1.4 0.2 28 0.9 0.7

Kendughata (65) 53 1.1 92.7 1.3 0.6 21 1.7 0.5

Bholeghata (42) 50 0.8 68.1 0.8 17.9 - 12.4 -

Tantloi (62) 67 1.0 94.8 2.6 0.3 0.6 0.3 0.4

Table 2: Average composition of type-I fault air during maximum helium emission at five

locations in the Bakreswar-Tantloi geothermal area.

Location Bhabanipur Bakreswar Tarasol Tantloi Rameswar

Measurement May 1999 June 1999 Sept. 1999 June 1999 August 1999

Period to to to to to

Nov. 2000 Sept. 2000 April 2000 June 2000 January 2000

No. of 38 47 19 23 06

Analysis

He (ppm) 780 132 562 128 367 110 342 39 634 65

H2 (ppm) 822 54 694 61 482 18 1044 280 521 15

Ar (%) 1.0 0.2 1.2 0.3 1.0 0.1 1.23 0.3 1.0 0.1

N2 (%) 77.82 1.64 79.36 0.90 79.72 0.90 79.41 1.21 78.60 1.22

O2 (%) 16.91 2.15 17.01 1.66 18.20 1.11 16.84 0.94 18.13 0.87

CO2 (%) 1.93 0.30 0.77 0.25 0.35 0.12 1.28 0.16 0.94 0.36

CH4 (%) 1.75 0.37 1.52 0.41 0.39 0.26 1.66 0.29 2.22 1.54



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Andhra Pradesh: Ushnagundam (near

Bhadrachalam area) (13) Karnataka: a)

Bendruteertha (Sulphur Spring and lies 13

km. from Mangalore b) Irde (Located at

Puttur Taluk area, 37 0 C), c) Bandaru (near

Belthangadi Taluk area) (13). Tamil Nadu:

Godavari Valley contains near about 30 hot-

water springs. a) Mannargudi-

Thiruthuraipundi area of hot-water springs,

b) hot-water Springs along costal tract of

Arantangi (13). Kerala: Varkala (54

km.from Thiruvanthpuram) (13). Andaman

and Nicobar: Various Hot-water Springs

present with high abnormalities in their

temperature range of more than 200 0C

located near active Volcanoes (13).

Mythology of Hot-Springs

In India, Hot-Spring water has been used for

basic survival and medicinal purposes, In

Odisha state; Atri and Taptapani are the two

famous Hot water springs. Taptapani

thermal water is mainly used for treatment

of skin, stomach and Rheumatic disorders.

There are also superstitions in use of thermal

water in Atri that, women take bath in

thermal water on auspicious Mahashivaratri

and Makar Sankranti to heal the impotency

and get divine blessings for motherhood.

(14)

Ten Well Known Hot Springs in India

Vajreshwari (Maharashtra):

Vajreshwari located at the foot of Mandakini

Mountain has several Hot Springs strewn

across Vajreshwari, Akoli, Ganeshpuri and

Satvali. The temperature of the hot springs

here varies from 43 to 49 0C. At the hot

springs in Vajreshwari there is a provision

of hot springs baths in exclusive and closed

baths known as "Kothawalla Baths" (15).

Bakreswar (West Bengal): Bakreswar a famous pilgrimage spot is

located on the edge of the Chhotanagpur

plateau. It boasts of 10 Hot Springs,

naturally rich in therapeutic minerals. People

from far and near converge hear for a bath.

The natural springs of Bakreswar are also

sources of Helium gas. Important ones are

Paphara Ganga, Baitarini Ganga, Khar

kunda et al (15).

Taptapani (Odisha): About 50 km from Berhampur, Taptapani

Hot water spring is located on a densely

forested hill. The waters of the natural

spring of Taptapani is said to contain

medicinal properties that cures skin

ailments. A pond is constructed next to the

Hot Spring for taking bath (15).

Atri (Odisha): Atri located at a distance of 42 km from

Bhubaneswar and well known for its hot

sulphur springs. The Hot water springs with

sulphur, maintain a uniform temperature of

55 0 to 58

0 C throughout the day. A bathing

complex adjoining the hot sulphur springs is

there for all to try alternative cures or just

the fun of it (15).

Thingbu and Tsachu (Arunanchal

Pradesh)

Thingbu and Tsachu Hot Water Springs the

twin healing hotspots are on the Tawang

Jang road in Tawang District. Easy

accessibility makes the warm, sulphur-rich

water of the Hot water springs a favourite

for the tourists as well as those desirous to

cure skin diseases (15).



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Fig. 13: Location map showing hot springs and observation sites of helium escape from thermal

area with reference to Kolkata to the earth surface. (Inset) Location of Bakreswar Tantloi Geothermal field.

Fig. 14: Taptapani Hot water Spring of Odisha.



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Fig. 15: Atri Hot water Spring of Odisha

Yumesamdong (Sikkim) Yumesamdong near to the Chinese border,

in the picturesque north Sikkim is well

recognized for its Hot water springs. There

is not less than 14 sulphur Hot water Springs

in the region of Yumesamdong. North

Sikkim. The Hot Springs are not out of

bounds and offer a chance to take a dip in

any among the 14 of the area (15).

Mannikaran (Himachal Pradesh) Mannikaran, at 1829 m above from sea level

is famous for its Hot water springs. The

water here is said to contain high dose of

Uranium and radioactive minerals besides

Sulphur. The temperature of the water is

above boiling point. One can have a bath

here within the premises of a Gurudwara

and two other privately-owned tanks.

Mannikaran is 70 km from Manali (15).

Vasisht (Himachal Pradesh) Just 3 km. from Manali are located the hot

springs of Vasisht in a small village. The

natural sulphur Hot water springs are

managed by the government. The sprouts

near the Sage Vasisht Temple fall into a tank

within the temple and there are separate

bathing areas for men and women (15).

Gauri Kund (Uttaranchal) Gauri Kund is situated at an elevation of

1982 meters from sea level and is the

commencement point of the holy trek to

Kedarnath. The natural thermal springs here

is allowed to fall into a Kund. The Kund

itself has a mythological connotations

attached with it. A sacred dip is considered

auspicious here (15).

Panamik (Ladakh, J&K) Panamik in Ladakh is around 9 km from the

beginning of the Siachen glacier. The Hot

Springs at Panamik with visible water

bubbles is very hot so there is no question of

getting near or touching it. The rocks around

the hot spring are very slippery because of

presence of green algae and sulphur coating

of the water (15).



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Conclusion

The geothermal fields are tectonically

controlled and often found in areas of block

faulting, grabens or rifting, collapsed caldera

structures, with reservoir depth within 1-3

km. (10). As regards to the origin of hot

springs in India, the photograph samples of

Indian Maps as provided i.e., Fig. 2 (9):

Geothermal provinces and regional flow

pattern in India and Fig. 4 (16): Seismic

zoning map of India (on lines of IS : (1893-

1970)) are taken and merged together by

using Adobe Fireworks cs5 version. The

merger indicates that the hot springs are

originated near the high earthquake zones on

faults (Fig. 12 and 13), i.e., (Fig. 2.-

Encircled zones are marked as Green in

colour and Fig. 4.-Seismic zones are marked

as Red colour).In Shear zones as marked by

I, IV, V , VI , the presence of hot springs

are less in number. However, in the Thrust

zones the presence is moderate, e.g.,

Jwalamukhi Thrust line, Mishmi Thrust line,

Dishang Thrust line (as indicated by Fig. 3.

It also reveals that a very high number of

hot springs are found near to Son Narmada

Tapti Fault line, KMF (Kutch main land

Fault line), MDF (Mahendragarh Deheradun

Fault line ) MSRMF (Munger Saharsadhara

Fault line), Cauvery Fault line, Tamil Nadu,

KGF (Kinnersami Godavari Fault line), Marginal Fault line in Gujarat, West Coast

Fault line (Maharashtra) (Fig. 3).

After analytical study and perusal reported

as above, it may be concluded that the Hot-

water Springs originated due to tectonic

movements or collision of heavy rocks

during the course of Earthquakes. Indian

scientific research scenario based on Hot

water spring microbial diversities, reveals

much interesting data about salient features

of their surveillance and evolutionary

adaptabilities towards extreme environments

and enhancing their Bioprospecting values

by using biotechnology and bioinformatics

tools and for this, much research inputs have

to be upgraded in the database of Hot-water

Spring ecosystems present in India.

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