An evaluation of the geothermal potential of the Tecuamburro Volcano area of Guatemala

Technical Report · Sat Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6567541· OSTI ID:6567541

Heiken, G; Duffield, W ^[1]

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1. eds.

Radiometric ages indicate that the Tecuamburro Volcano and three adjacent lava domes grew during the last 38,300 years, and that a 360-m-wide phreatic crater, Laguna Ixpaco, was formed near the base of these domes about 2900 years ago. Laguna Ixpaco is located within the Chupadero crater, from which pyroxene pumice deposits were erupted 38,300 years ago. Thus, the likelihood is great for a partly molten or solid-but-still-hot near-surface intrusion beneath the area. Fumaroles and hot springs issue locally from the Tecuamburro volcanic complex and near Laguna Ixpaco. Analyses of gas and fluid samples from these and other nearby thermal manifestations yield chemical-geothermometer temperatures of about 150{degree} to 300{degree}C, with the highest temperatures at Ixpaco. The existence of a commercial-grade geothermal reservoir beneath the Ixpaco area seems likely. 84 refs., 70 figs., 12 tabs.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: AID
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 6567541
• Report Number(s): LA-11906-MS; ON: DE91000685
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
150200* -- Geology & Hydrology of Geothermal Systems
150300 -- Geothermal Exploration & Exploration Technology
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CENTRAL AMERICA
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EXPLORATION
FLUIDS
GAS ANALYSIS
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GEOLOGY
GEOPHYSICS
GEOTHERMAL EXPLORATION
GEOTHERMAL FIELDS
GUATEMALA
Geothermal Legacy
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
LATIN AMERICA
NUCLEI
PETROLOGY
RADIOISOTOPES
RADON 222
RADON ISOTOPES
RESERVOIR FLUIDS
RESERVOIR ROCK
SAMPLING
STRATIGRAPHY
VOLCANIC REGIONS