EGU25-18360, updated on 15 Mar 2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-18360
EGU General Assembly 2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Waiwera: evolving understanding of a New Zealand geothermal system
Michael Kühn1,2, Tim Schöne1,2, Leonard Grabow1,2, Graham Paul D. Viskovic3, and Thomas Kempka1,2
Michael Kühn et al.
  • 1GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Fluid Systems Modelling, Potsdam, Germany
  • 2University of Potsdam, Institute for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
  • 3GNS Science, Taupo, New Zealand

Waiwera is a small coastal village with a 50 °C warm geothermal reservoir of 400 metres thickness directly underneath [1-2]. Hydrogeological models support water management by providing insights into sustainable extraction of water from the reservoir. We analysed the system in several studies over the past decades, mainly the last ten years [3-12].

Geothermal waters at Waiwera originate from rainwater percolating downward and heating by the background geothermal gradient. The system is fed along a fault zone located at the base of the reservoir. New radiocarbon dating shows the upwelling water to be >20,000 years old [13]. The present contribution gives an overview of the current research status, as well as the ongoing reinterpretation of recharge models for meteoric water.

[1] Auckland Regional Water Board (1987): Waiwera thermal groundwater allocation and management plan 1986. - Auckland (NZ), Auckland Regional Water Board. 85 p. (AWRB technical publication; 39).

[2] Zemansky, G. (2005): Hydrogeological evaluation of the Waiwera geothermal aquifer. - Lower Hutt (NZ), Institute of Geological & Nuclear Science Limited. 56 p. Client Report 2005/131. Prepared for Waiwera Infinity Limited.

[3] Kühn, M., Stöfen, H. (2005): A reactive flow model of the geothermal reservoir Waiwera, New Zealand. - Hydrogeology Journal, 13, 4, 606-626. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-004-0377-6

[4] Kühn, M., Altmannsberger, C. (2016): Assessment of Data Driven and Process Based Water Management Tools for the Geothermal Reservoir Waiwera (New Zealand). - Energy Procedia, 97, 403-410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2016.10.034

[5] Kühn, M., Schöne, T. (2017): Multivariate regression model from water level and production rate time series for the geothermal reservoir Waiwera (New Zealand). - Energy Procedia, 125, 571-579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.08.196

[6] Kühn, M., Schöne, T. (2018): Investigation of the influence of earthquakes on the water level in the geothermal reservoir of Waiwera (New Zealand). - Advances in Geosciences, 45, 235-241. https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-45-235-2018

[7] Somogyvári, M., Kühn, M., Reich, S. (2019): Reservoir-scale transdimensional fracture network inversion. - Advances in Geosciences, 49, 207-214.
https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-49-207-2019

[8] Präg, M., Becker, I., Hilgers, C., Walter, T. R., Kühn, M. (2020): Thermal UAS survey of reactivated hot spring activity in Waiwera, New Zealand. - Advances in Geosciences, 54, 165-171. https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-54-165-2020

[9] Kühn, M., Grabow, L. (2021): Deconvolution well test analysis applied to a long-term data set of the Waiwera geothermal reservoir (New Zealand). - Advances in Geosciences, 56, 107-116. https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-56-107-2021

[10] Kühn, M., Präg, M., Becker, I., Hilgers, C., Grafe, A., Kempka, T. (2022): Geographic Information System (GIS) as a basis for the next generation of hydrogeological models to manage the geothermal area Waiwera (New Zealand). - Advances in Geosciences, 58, 31-39. https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-58-31-2022

[11] Kempka, T., Kühn, M. (2023): Numerical simulation of spatial temperature and salinity distribution in the Waiwera geothermal reservoir, New Zealand. - Grundwasser, 28, 243-254. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00767-023-00551-8

[12] Kühn, M., Stagpoole, V., Viskovic, G. P. D., Kempka, T. (2024): New data for a model update of the Waiwera geothermalreservoir in New Zealand. - Advances in Geosciences, 65, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-65-1-2024

[13] Viskovic, G. P. D., Stagpoole, V. M., Morgenstern, U. (2023): Results of microgravity survey and ground water sampling, Waiwera, Auckland. - GNS Science Report, 2023/33.

How to cite: Kühn, M., Schöne, T., Grabow, L., Viskovic, G. P. D., and Kempka, T.: Waiwera: evolving understanding of a New Zealand geothermal system, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-18360, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-18360, 2025.

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