Hot Springs Spa

A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are hot springs all over the earth, on every continent and even under the oceans and seas.

Definitions

There is no universally accepted definition of a hot spring. For example, one can find the phrase hot spring defined as

  • any geothermal spring
  • a spring with water temperatures above its surroundings
  • a natural spring with water temperature above body temperature – normally between 36.5 °C (97.7 °F) and 37.5 °C (99.5 °F)
  • a natural spring with warm water above body temperature
  • a thermal spring with water warmer than 36.7 °C (98.1 °F)
  • a natural spring of water greater than 21.1 °C (70.0 °F) (synonymous with thermal spring)
  • a natural discharge of groundwater with elevated temperatures
  • a type of thermal spring in which hot water is brought to the surface. The water temperature of a hot spring is usually 6.5 °C (43.7 °F) or more above mean air temperature. Note that by this definition, "thermal spring" is not synonymous with the term "hot spring"
  • a spring whose hot water is brought to the surface (synonymous with a thermal spring). The water temperature of the spring is usually 8.3 °C (46.9 °F) or more above the mean air temperature.
  • a spring with water above the core human body temperature – 36.7 °C (98.1 °F).
  • a spring with water above average ambient ground temperature, a definition favored by some
  • a spring with water temperatures above 50 °C (122 °F)

The related term " warm spring " is defined as a spring with water temperature less than a hot spring by many sources, although Pentecost et al. (2003) suggest that the phrase "warm spring" is not useful and should be avoided. The US NOAA Geophysical Data Center defines a "warm spring" as a spring with water between 20 °C (68 °F) and 50 °C (122 °F).

Sources of heat

The water issuing from a hot spring is heated by geothermal heat, i.e., heat from the Earth's interior. In general, the temperature of rocks within the earth increases with depth. The rate of temperature increase with depth is known as the geothermal gradient. If water percolates deeply enough into the crust, it will be heated as it comes into contact with hot rocks. The water from hot springs in non-volcanic areas is heated in this manner.

In active volcanic zones such as Yellowstone National Park, water may be heated by coming into contact with magma (molten rock). The high temperature gradient near magma may cause water to be heated enough that it boils or becomes superheated. If the water becomes so hot that it builds steam pressure and erupts in a jet above the surface of the Earth, it is called a geyser. If the water only reaches the surface in the form of steam, it is called a fumarole. If the water is mixed with mud and clay, it is called a mud pot.

Note that hot springs in volcanic areas are often at or near the boiling point. People have been seriously burned and even killed by accidentally or intentionally entering these springs.

Warm springs are sometimes the result of hot and cold springs mixing but may also occur outside of volcanic areas, such as Warm Springs, Georgia (frequented for its therapeutic effects by paraplegic U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who built the Little White House there).

Flow rates

Hot springs range in flow rate from the tiniest "seeps" to veritable rivers of hot water. Sometimes there is enough pressure that the water shoots upward in a geyser, or fountain.

A very low flow rate hot spring fed the closed resort, Fales Hot Ditch, which is north of Bridgeport, California. There is a huge subterranean lake below Tonopah, Arizona, which provides natural hot mineral waters to several hot springs. These hot springs were used by the seven or more hot spring spas that once operated in Tonopah. The ruins of two such spas are still visible in Tonopah.

High flow hot springs

There are many claims in the literature about the flow rates of hot springs. Some of the hot springs with high flow rates and high claimed flow rates. It should be noted that there are many more very high flow nonthermal springs than geothermal springs. For example, there are 33 recognized "magnitude one springs" (having a flow in excess of 2,800 liters/second) in Florida alone. Silver Springs, Florida has a flow of more than 21,000 liters/second. Springs with high flow rates include:

  • The combined flow of the 47 hot springs in Hot Springs, Arkansas is 35 liters/second.
  • The combined flow of the hot springs complex in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico is estimated at 99 liters/second.
  • Lava Hot Springs in Idaho has a flow of 130 liters/second.
  • Glenwood Springs in Colorado has a flow of 143 liters/second.
  • Elizabeth Springs in western Queensland, Australia might have had a flow of 158 liters/second in the late 1800s, but now has a flow of about 5 liters/second.
  • Deildartunguhver in Iceland has a flow of 180 liters/second.
  • The hot springs of Brazil's Caldas Novas ("New Hot Springs" in Portuguese) are tapped by 86 wells, from which 333 liters/second are pumped for 14 hours per day. This corresponds to a peak average flow rate of 3.89 liters/second per well.
  • The 2,850 hot springs of Beppu in Japan are the highest flow hot spring complex in Japan. Together the Beppu hot springs produce about 1,592 liters/second, or corresponding to an average hot spring flow of 0.56 liters/second.
  • The 303 hot springs of Kokonoe in Japan produce 1,028 liters/second, which gives the average hot spring a flow of 3.39 liters/second.
  • The Oita Prefecture has 4,762 hot springs, with a total flow of 4,437 liters/second, so the average hot spring flow is 0.93 liters/second.
  • The highest flow rate hot spring in Japan is the Tamagawa Hot Spring in Akita Prefecture, which has a flow rate of 150 liters/second. The Tamagawa Hot Spring feeds a 3 m (9.8 ft) wide stream with a temperature of 98 °C (208 °F).
  • There are at least three hot springs in the Nage region 8 km (5.0 mi) south west of Bajawa City in Indonesia that collectively produce more than 453.6 liters/second.
  • There are another three large hot springs (Mengeruda, Wae Bana and Piga) 18 km (11 mi) north east of Bajawa City, Indonesia that together produce more than 450 liters/second of hot water.
  • The Dalhousie Springs complex in Australia had a peak total flow of more than 23,000 liters/second in 1915, giving the average spring in the complex an output of more than 325 liters/second. This has been reduced now to a peak total fow of 17,370 liters/second so the average spring has a peak output of about 250 liters/second.

Therapeutic uses

Because 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. Because of both the folklore and the claimed medical value some of these springs have, they are often popular tourist destinations, and locations for rehabilitation clinics for those with disabilities.

Biota in hot springs

Main article: Thermophile

A thermophile is an organism — a type of extremophile — that thrives at relatively high temperatures, between 45 and 80 °C (113 and 176 °F). Many thermophiles are archaea. Thermophiles are found in hot springs, as well as deep sea hydrothermal vents and decaying plant matter such as peat bogs and compost.

Some hot springs biota are infectious to humans. For example:

  • Naegleria fowleri , an amoeba, live in warm waters and soils worldwide and may cause meningitis. Several deat

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