Geology topics

A.L. Grunder

Publications and source records attributed to A.L. Grunder.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS1987

The hydrothermal system of the Calabozos caldera, central Chilean Andes

Active thermal springs associated with the late Pleistocene Calabozos caldera complex occur in two groups: the Colorado group which issues along structures related to caldera collapse and resurgence, and the Puesto Calabozos group, a nearby cluster that is chemically distinct and probably unrelated to the Colorado springs. Most of the Colorado group can be related to a hypothetical parent water containing ???400 ppm Cl at ???250??C by dilution with ???50% of cold meteoric water. The thermal springs in the most deeply eroded part of the caldera were derived from the same parent water by boiling. The hydrothermal system has probably been active for at least as long as 300,000 years, based on geologic evidence and calculations of paleo-heat flow. There is no evidence for economic mineralization at shallow depth. The Calabozos hydrothermal system would be an attractive geothermal prospect were its location not so remote. ?? 1987.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗

USGS1984

The Loma Seca tuff and the Calabozos caldera: a major ash-flow and caldera complex in the southern Andes of central Chile

A 26 × 14-km composite ring-structure caldera of late Pleistocene age has been discovered and mapped near the Andean crest in central Chile (35°30′S). Rhyodacitic to dacitic zoned ash-flow sheets, each representing 150 to 300 km 3 of magma, were emplaced 0.8, 0.3, and 0.15 m.y. ago; the youngest of the associated collapses was closely followed by resurgent doming of the caldera floor and development of a longitudinal graben. Postcaldera eruptions of dacite and andesite have persisted into Holocene time, and active hot springs are abundant along caldera-marginal and resurgent fault systems, suggesting a significant geothermal-energy resource. The Pleistocene eruption rate of this district and the abundance of older Quaternary to Miocene ash-flow remnants in the 33°S to 36°S segment of the glaciated southern Andes indicate that ash-flow magmatism has been no less important here than in the arid central Andes (16°S–28°S), where ash-flow sheets are far better preserved.

Geological Society of America Bulletin↗

USGS1983

SELECTED CHEMICAL ANALYSES AND GEOTHERMOMETRY OF HOT SPRING WATERS FROM THE CALABOZOS CALDERA, CENTRAL CHILE.

Hot springs discharging from the active hydrothermal system associated with the Calabozos caldera, Chile, have measured orifice temperatures as high as 98. 5 degree C and calculated geothermometer temperatures as high as 250 degree C. Three types of spring waters can be identified from the chemical analyses: a Na-Cl type, a Na-HCO//3 type and a Na-mixed anion type. Chloride-enthalpy relations indicate that the hydrothermal reservoir water may attain temperatures near 342 degree C and that most spring waters are mixed with cold meteoric water. Despite the proximity of Mesozoic marine gypsum deposits, the Cl/Br weight ratio of the Calabozos spring waters does not appear to indicate that these waters have a significant 'marine' signature. Refs.

Conference Paper↗