INVESTIGADORES
VIRAMONTE Jose German
artículos
Título:
Light hydrocarbons as redox and temperature indicators in the geothermal field of El Tatio (northern Chile)
Autor/es:
TASSI, F.; MARTÍNEZ, C.; VASELLI, O.; CAPACCIONI, B.; VIRAMONTE JOSÉ G.
Revista:
JOURNAL OF VOLCANOLOGY AND GEOTHERMAL RESEARCH
Editorial:
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
Referencias:
Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2005 p. 2049 - 2062
ISSN:
0377-0273
Resumen:
El Tatio (northern Chile), one
of the largest geothermal fields of South America, is presently
undergoing a new program of geothermal exploration, after the failure of
the first exploration phase in the early 1970s. The geochemical
features of the fluid discharges characterizing this system mainly
consist of boiling pools and fumaroles, and represent the result of a
complex mixing process involving 3 main components: (i) hydrothermal;
(ii) atmospheric; (iii) magmatic. Chemical reactions involving light
hydrocarbons equilibrate at higher temperature than those directly
measured in the geothermal wells and calculated on the basis of the
composition of the inorganic gas species. This suggests that in the
deeper parts of the hydrothermal system temperatures higher than 300 °C
may be achieved. Such results can have a strong impact for the
evaluation of the potential resources of this geothermal system.
Moreover, the chemical characteristics of the organic gas fraction allow
the assessment of the chemicalphysical conditions governing the
geochemical processes acting on geothermal fluids at depth.
