El Tatio Geyser Field, Antofagasta Region, Chile
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2003 The GOSA Transactions 31 A Special Report The Extraordinary Thermal Activity of El Tatio Geyser Field, Antofagasta Region, Chile J. Alan Glennon Department of Geography University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, California 93106 Rhonda M. Pfaff Environmental Systems Research Institute 380 New York Street Redlands, California 92373 Abstract Acknowledgements El Tatio Geyser Field (locally known as Los Géiseres del We wish to thank our friends Shane Fryer and Tatio) is located within the Andes Mountains of northern Chile at 4,200 meters above mean sea level, 150 kilometers Weldon Hawkins for their assistance in the field. east, southeast of Calama, Chile. With over 80 active gey- Scott Bryan (Geyser Observation and Study Asso- sers, El Tatio is the largest geyser field in the southern hemi- ciation) and Randall Marrett (Department of Geo- sphere and the third largest field in the world, following logical Sciences, University of Texas at Austin) were Yellowstone, USA, and Dolina Geizerov, Russia. From particularly helpful in providing information on pre- March 19–21, 2002, the authors visited the geothermal field to inventory the geysers and their behavior. Of over 110 vious investigations to the area. Thanks to Keith erupting springs documented, more than 80 were identified and Arlene Pfaff for aiding in travel logistics. Cyril as true geysers and an additional 30 were perpetual spouters. Cavadore graciously allowed the use of several Despite reports that geyser activity occurred only in the photographs of the basin. Special thanks to Larry morning, no abatement in activity was observed at any time Fryer for making special travel arrangements for within any part of the field. Although the observed activity was vigorous, eruptions commonly reached less than one our group. meter. Of the erupting springs cataloged, the mean spout- ing height was 69 centimeters. Of the true geysers cata- loged, the eruptions averaged 76 centimeters. El Tatio Gey- ser Field contains approximately 8 percent of the world’s geysers. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PART I. EL TATIO GEYSER FIELD A. INTRODUCTION B. GEOGRAPHY C. HYDROGEOLOGIC SETTING D. METHODS E. DISCUSSION AND FUTURE RESEARCH PART II. SPRING DESCRIPTIONS PART III. APPENDICES: - I. Summary of Geyser Activity The authors among the mudpots of Group M III. II. Expedition Log Left to right: Alan Glennon, Weldon Hawkins, III. Hazards Rhonda Pfaff and Shane Fryer. (Photo by Alan Glennon) REFERENCES 32 The GOSA Transactions Volume VIII Map A — Index Map to El Tatio Geyser Field PART I. EL TATIO GEYSER FIELD vigorous, eruption heights are commonly less than one meter. Numerous uncataloged springs continu- I. INTRODUCTION ously boil and occasionally eject small erratic El Tatio Geyser Field, with over 100 erupting splashes. springs, is the largest geyser field in the southern The Tatio geysers (locally known as Los hemisphere and the third largest field in the world, Géiseres del Tatio) are located within the Andes following Yellowstone, USA, and Dolina Geizerov, Mountains of northern Chile at 4,200 meters above Russia. From March 19–21, 2002, a four–person mean sea level, 150 kilometers east, southeast of team visited the geothermal field to inventory the Calama, Chile. El Tatio spans a 10 km2 region of area’s geysers and their behavior. Of over 100 fea- Andean altiplano. Geyser activity is fueled by wa- tures documented, more than 80 were identified as ter heated by a volcanic complex that lies primarily true geysers and an additional 30 or more appear east of the field. Ignimbrite (which is composition- to be perpetual spouters (however, some of these ally similar to rhyolite) is the likely source of silica spouters may be geysers with long durations). Three needed for development of the geyser plumbing regions at El Tatio where geysers have been previ- network. ously reported were not visited. An extended study Within the field (Map A, above), three separate at El Tatio would likely find many more true gey- zones of geysers exist, each with a different char- sers. Although the observed activity at El Tatio is acter. The three major geyser zones are: 1) The 2003 The GOSA Transactions 33 Upper Geyser Basin (or Main Terrace) lies near first to provide a numerical count of features and a the floor of a gently sloping valley and is charac- description of the springs’ geochemistry. terized by relatively low water discharge but well– The next detailed investigation began in 1968 developed sinter terraces. Numerous large active with the joint work of the United Nations Devel- and inactive geyser cones lie within the Upper Ba- opment Program and the Government of Chile. sin. The Upper Basin is the largest of the fields These investigations included a detailed survey of (spanning 5 km2) and contains the greatest single the natural features of the basin by Trujillo et al. number of erupting springs. A feature in this zone [1969], in which over 200 features were mapped. was the tallest observed geyser of the basin, erupt- Continuing investigations were commissioned to ing to 5 meters or more. While a majority of the assess the economic feasibility of geothermal elec- erupting springs at El Tatio appears erratic, numer- tricity production and water desalinization. These ous geysers in the Upper Basin appear to have pre- studies included discussions of regional geology, dictable intervals and durations. 2) The Middle structure, and geochemistry [Trujillo, 1969; Lahsen Geyser Basin, a flat sinter plain, lies immediately and Trujillo, 1976; Cusquicanqui et al., 1976]. Six to the south of the Upper Basin. A series of 3–meter exploration wells (at depths to 740 meters) and deep pools have frothy, fountain–type eruptions. production wells (to 1,821 meters deep) were The intervals are short (near continuous) and the drilled between 1969 and 1974. The majority of eruptions are erratic in duration and height. 3) The these wells are 2 kilometers south of the Main Ter- Lower Geyser Basin (or River Group) lies along race. In 1974, a pilot desalinization plant was sited the banks of the Río Salado, approximately 2 kilo- adjacent to the Main Terrace. In 1981, the Chilean meters downstream from the Middle Basin. At least Economic Development Agency (CORFO) con- ten springs erupt in and near the river to heights of ducted a study on the basin concluding that, with 1 to 3 meters. Some features in the Lower Basin existing wells, El Tatio has electrical production erupt from within the flow channels of the river potential of 15 to 30 megawatts [Andres et al., itself, including several underwater geysers whose 1998]. In March 2002, no wells were discharging eruptions eject sediment onto the riverbank. Very and no geothermal electric production facilities little sinter accumulation has occurred in this down- were in place at the field. The abandoned desalin- stream river group. ization equipment still stands within 100 meters of El Tatio’s tallest geyser (T25). Other recent scien- Previous Work tific work has examined El Tatio’s silica deposi- Mentions of geysers in the altiplano were first tion, with an emphasis on geyser eggs and pearls included in descriptions of northern Chile by around thermal pools and geyser cones [Jones and Bertrand [1885] and Sundt [1909]. In 1921, Ital- Renaut, 1997]. ian engineer Ettore Tocchi [1923] began a study of the geology and geothermal manifestations to de- Purpose and Scope of This Study termine their suitability as a source for electricity The purpose of the investigation was to inven- production. The next attempt at a detailed study of tory and characterize the behavior of the geysers El Tatio was by Brueggen [1943]; however, due to of El Tatio. The study is restricted to assessing the the isolation of the area and difficulty traveling to geysers themselves; within the limited time of only the geysers, only a few observations were made. In three days at the basin, many significant hydrother- 1953 and 1960, Dr. Angelo Filipponi, a professor mal manifestations were not inventoried. While at at the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, least 30 perpetual spouters were noted, descrip- Chile, described the characteristics of the hydro- tive information was not collected for all of them. thermal phenomena at El Tatio and made compari- Based on previous investigations, our inventory sons with the geothermal source and production includes approximately 25 percent of the thermal facilities in Italy [Filipponi, 1953, 1960; Andres et features in the field. Numerous perpetual spouters, al., 1998]. Zeil’s 1956 and 1959 works were the mudpots, warm springs, solfataras, and fumaroles, 34 The GOSA Transactions Volume VIII await future investigators. In addition, with our lim- Mañana geothermal field lies across the interna- ited time, we were able to collect only basic, pre- tional border from El Tatio in Bolivia. liminary data for each cataloged feature. The main cities of interest in the Antofagasta For most of the geysers, only one or two closed (or Region II) province of Chile, the zone in which intervals were observed. Data presented reflect El Tatio is located, include Antofagasta, Calama, these short observation periods and should be evalu- and San Pedro de Atacama. The city of Antofagasta, ated accordingly by readers. In addition, the be- with a population of 275,000, is the capital of the havioral data represent a three–day snapshot of region. Antofagasta is a coastal harbor city that conditions at the basin. Seasonal climactic varia- serves as a shipping center for the mineral resources tions, seismic effects, and anthropogenic interven- produced in northern Chile and landlocked Bolivia. tion are just a few of many factors that could greatly Calama lies about 300 kilometers northeast of affect data presented in this report. During the study, Antofagasta at an altitude of 2,250 meters.