Fuente de calor en el campo geotérmico de Cerro Prieto y su relación con la anomalía magnética Nuevo León, México
Main Article Content
Abstract
The Cerro Prieto geothermal system located within the Salton Trough province is one of the northernmost of a serie of active hydrothermal systems found along the East Pacific Rise-San Andreas Fault zone plate boundary transition. Several models have been developed in an attempt to understand the tectonic process which creates the geothermal environment in the area. Among such models is the one of Goldstein et al., (1984) which used the magnetic data and some petrographic analysis available. They proposed that the so called Nuevo León magnetic anomaly is produced by a prismatic body located at 3.8 km of depth which is constituted by gabbros and peridotites. Using the magnetic data and combining with the new petrological results from rock samples collected in recent boreholes from the field, and based upon the calculated thermal gradient, we have modified the Goldstein et al. (1984) model. The Nuevo Leon magnetic anomaly is produced not by one body but by two located at different depths and with different dimensions. In the shallower one, the top is located at 4.5 km and its base at 7 km deep, this is slightly tilted to the north. In the second body, the upper part is at 5 km deep and the base at 8 km. Both of them are gabbros in composition. Considering the results obtained and based upon the thermal gradient, the mixing zone is located at 11 km depth and the mafic plutonic bodies are considered part of the thermal source in the area.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
BHATTACHARYA, B. K., 1964. Magnetic anomalies due to prism-shaped bodies with arbitrary polarization. Geophysics, 29, 4, 517-531. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1190/1.1439386
COMISION FEDERAL DE ELECTRICIDAD, 1987. Proyecto geotermoeléctrico de Cerro Prieto, Coordinadora Ejecutiva de Mexicali. (Anónimo).
COX, K. G., J. D. BELL y R. J. PANKHURST, 1979. The interpretation of Igneous Rocks. George Allen & Unwin Publ. Co. 446 pp. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3373-1
ELDERS, W. A., R. W. REX, T. MEIDAV, P. T. ROBINSON y S. BIELHER, 1972. Crustal spreading in southern California. Science 178, 15-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.178.4056.15
ELDERS, W. A., A. E. BIRD, D. K. SCHIFFMAN P., 1984. Hydrothermal flow regime and magmatic heat source of the Cerro Prieto geothermal system, Baja California, Mexico. Geothermics, 13, 27-47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0375-6505(84)90005-1
FONSECA, H. L. y A. RAZO-MONTIEL, 1979. Estudios gravimétricos, magnetométricos y de sísmica de reflexión en el campo geotérmico de Cerro Prieto. Memorias sobre el campo geotérmico de Cerro Prieto, 303-322.
FONSECA, H. L., A. DE LA PEÑA L., I. PUENTE C. y E. DIAZ, 1981. Extensión del Campo Geotérmico de Cerro Prieto y futuras zonas con probabilidades geotérmicas en el Valle de Mexicali. Memorias sobre el Campo Geotérmico de Cerro Prieto, 384-414.
FREZ, J. y J. J. GONZALEZ, 1989a. Sismicidad y mecanismos focales en el Valle de Mexicali-Imperial (1973-1985). Geofísica Internacional, 28, 4, 643-691. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22201/igeof.00167169p.1989.28.4.1317
FREZ, J. y J. J. GONZALEZ, 1991. Crustal structure and seismotectonics of northern Baja California. "The Gulf and Peninsular Province of the Californias". Am. Assoc. of Petroleum Geol., Memoir 47, 261-283. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1306/M47542C15
GOLDSTEIN, N. E., M. J. WILT and D. J. CORRIGAN, 1984. Analysis of the Nuevo Leon magnetic anomaly and its possible relation to the Cerro Prieto magmatic-hydrothermal system. Geothermics 13, 3-11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0375-6505(84)90003-8
GONZALEZ, J. J., 1986. Sismotectónica del Valle de Mexicali, 1977-1980. Tesis de Maestría. CICESE.
HALL, A., 1987. Igneous Petrology. Longman Scientific-Technical Co., 573 pp.
HILL, P. D., 1977. A model for earthquake swarms. J. Geophys. Res., 82, 8, 1347-1352. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/JB082i008p01347
LACHENBRUCH, A. H., J. H. SASS y S. P. GALANIS, 1985. Heat flow in southernmost California and the origin of the Salton Trough. J. Geophys. Res., 90, 6709-6736. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/JB090iB08p06709
LAWVER, A. L. y J. G. SCLATER, 1973. Heat flow measurements in the southern portion of the Gulf of California. Earth and Planetary Science Letter 12, 198-208. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(73)90115-5
LAWVER, L. A. y D. L. WILLIAMS, 1979. Heat flow in the central Gulf of California. J. Geophys. Res., 47, 3465-3478. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/JB084iB07p03465
LEE, T-C. y L. H. COHEN, 1979. Onshore and offshore measurements of temperature gradients in the Salton Sea Geothermal area, California. Geophysics, 44, 2, 206-215. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1190/1.1440962
LOMNITZ, C., F. MOOSER, C. ALLEN, J. BRUNE y W. THATCHER, 1970. Seismicity and Tectonics of the Northern Gulf of California region, Mexico preliminary results. Geofísica Internacional, 10, 2, 37-48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22201/igeof.00167169p.1970.10.2.1165
LYONS, D. J. y P. C. VAN DE KAMP, 1980. Subsurface geological and geophysical study of the Cerro Prieto geothermal field, B. C., Mexico. Lawrence Berkeley report LBL-10540. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2172/5282464
MERCADO, S. y S. J. BERMEJO, 1985. Heat source and geothermal gradient of the Cerro Prieto Geothermal Field. 1985 International Symposium on Geothermal Energy. International Volume Geothermal Resource Council. 527-531.
QUINTANILLA-MONTOYA, A. L., 1990. Caracterización tectónica del Campo Geotérmico de Cerro Prieto con base en el análisis petrológico y magnético de subsuelo. Tesis de Maestría, CICESE, Ensenada, México. 102 pp.
REYES ZAMORA, C. A., 1979. Estudio de microsismicidad del sistema de fallas transformadas Imperial-Cerro Prieto. Informe Tecnico GEO79-01. Centro de Investigación Científica y Educación Superior de Ensenada. 90pp.
TELFORD, W. M., L. P. GELDART, R. E. SHERIFF y D. A. KEYS, 1978. Applied Geophysics. Cambridge University Press. 860 pp.
VON HERZEN, R. P., 1963. Geothermal heat flow in the Gulf of California and Aden, Science, 140, 1207-1208. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.140.3572.1207