The structural architecture of the Los Humeros volcanic complex and geothermal field Gianluca Norini1, Gerardo Carrasco–Núñez2, Fernando Corbo-Camargo2, Javier Lermo3, Javier Hernández Rojas2, César Castro2, Marco Bonini4, Domenico Montanari4, Giacomo Corti4, Giovanna Moratti4, Luigi Piccardi4, Guillermo Chavez5, Maria Clara Zuluaga6, Miguel Ramirez7, Fidel Cedillo8 1Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milano, Italy 2Centro de Geociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, México 3Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, CDMX, México 4Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Firenze, Italy 5Polaris Energy Nicaragua S.A., Managua, Nicaragua 6Dirección de Recursos Minerales, Servicio Geológico Colombiano, Bogotá, Colombia 7Comisión Federal de Electricidad, Gerencia de Proyectos Geotermoeléctricos SEDE, Morelia, Michoacán, México 8Seismocontrol S.A. de C.V., Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico Corresponding author: G. Norini, tel. +390266173334, fax +390228311442,
[email protected] Abstract The Los Humeros Volcanic Complex (LHVC) is a large silicic caldera complex in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB), hosting a geothermal field currently in exploitation by the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) of Mexico, with an installed capacity of ca. 95 MW of electric power. Understanding the structural architecture of LHVC is important to get insights into the interplay between the volcano-tectonic setting and the characteristics of the geothermal resources in the area. The analysis of volcanotectonic interplay in LHVC benefits from the availability of subsurface data obtained during the exploration of the geothermal reservoir that allows the achievement of a 3D structural view of the volcano system. The LHVC thus represents an important natural laboratory for the development of general models of volcano-tectonic interaction in calderas.