Browsing by Author "Rowland, Julie"

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    Multi-scale flow structure of a strike-slip tectonic setting: A self-similar model for the Liquine-Ofqui Fault System and the Andean Transverse Faults, Southern Andes (39-40 degrees S)
    (PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2022) Roquer, Tomas; Arancibia, Gloria; Crempien, Jorge G. F.; Mery, Domingo; Rowland, Julie; Sepulveda, Josefa; Veloso, Eugenio E.; Nehler, Mathias; Bracke, Rolf; Morata, Diego
    The flow structure of a brittle crustal volume is defined by the multi-scale geometric and hydraulic properties of its fracture meshes. The length density distribution n(L,l) and the transmissivity distribution K(L,l) control the hydrologic scaling, where l is fracture length and L is the system size. The flow structure might display at most three key hydrologic scales: the connection scale, above which flow is focused in few critical paths; the channeling scale, above which flow is distributed in several paths; and the homogenization scale, above which permeability approaches a constant value. According to these scales, the hydrological structure could be distributed or clustered, thus having a clear impact in geothermal exploration campaigns and reservoir modeling. In this work, we determine the multi-scale flow structure for the Liquine-Ofqui Fault System (LOFS) and the Andean Transverse Faults (ATF) in the Southern Andes, by establishing the hydrologic scaling they follow. Using fractal statistics, we integrated geological data at the regional, meso-and micro-scale, including image analysis from X-ray microtomography. Our results suggest a self-similar, dense network with n(L,l)similar to l(-a) and a = 2.6-2.9, from the regional scale where the LOFS and ATF interact to the meso-and micro-scale within highly fractured areas of the LOFS. Scaling models are constrained by the length distribution, and other power-law functions reflecting the geometric arrangement of fractures, as well as the spatial distribution of superficial geothermal occurrences. Thus, we expect the hydrologic scaling to depend on the transmissivity distribution. Lognormal transmissivity distribution yields a permeability increase with scale, from the connection to the homogenization scales; whereas power-law transmissivity distribution yields a permeability increase from the connection scale without a limiting value. Approximations of the connection scale are around 10(-3)-10(0) m; the channeling scale, around 100-104 m; and if the homogenization scale exists, it should be equal or greater than 10(3)-10(4) m. Finally, the results presented here could to define the internal architecture of fracture meshes in fault-controlled fluid flow, and be used to select an appropriate hydrologic model according to the analyzed scale. Therefore, these findings must be taken into consideration in future geothermal prospecting, modeling and exploitation.
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    Physical, chemical and mineralogical evolution of the Tolhuaca geothermal system, southern Andes, Chile : Insights into the interplay between hydrothermal alteration and brittle deformation
    (2016) Sánchez Alfaro, Pablo; Reich, Martin; Arancibia Hernández, Gloria Cecilia; Pérez Flores, Pamela; Cembrano, José; Driesner, Thomas; Lizama, Martin; Rowland, Julie; Morata, Diego; Heinrich, Christoph A.
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    Volcano-tectonic interactions at the southern margin of the Okataina Volcanic Centre, Taupo? Volcanic Zone, New Zealand
    (2022) Berryman, Kelvin; Villamor, Pilar; Nairn, Ian; Begg, John; Alloway, Brent V.; Rowland, Julie; Lee, Julie; Capote, Ramon
    The c. 15 km-long Ngapouri-Rotomahana Fault (NRF) is a major splay of the Paeroa Fault at the eastern margin of the modern Taupo over bar Rift, the active tectonic structure embedded within the Taupo over bar Volcanic Zone of North Island, New Zealand. The NRF and Paeroa Fault extend to the southern margin of the Okataina Volcanic Centre (OVC) and lie southwest of the Tarawera vent lineation, which is the source of approximately half of the eruptions of the OVC in the past 25 cal. ka BP. Here, we explore volcano-tectonic relationships between the OVC and the NRF and Paeroa Fault. Collective evidence used in our analysis includes: volcanic processes interpreted as occurring during the historic 1886 Tarawera (basalt) and the prehistoric 1314 +/- 12 CE Kaharoa (basalt triggered rhyolite) eruptions, both on the Tarawera vent lineation; exposures in five trenches excavated across the NRF and seven trenches across the Paeroa Fault; data on a series of explosion craters formed to the southwest of the volcano associated with the -1314 CE Kaharoa eruption and the Rotoma rhyolite (-9.4 cal. ka BP) eruption from the OVC; and mafic dykes that primed several of the OVC eruptions. Data from the twelve trenches on the two faults reveal eight surface fault ruptures since 15.6 cal. ka BP, with most closely coinciding with volcanic eruptions, providing a first-order indication of probable causality. Three principal modes of interaction are identified. Firstly, large displacement events on the Paeroa fault, arguably immediately prior to the Mamaku and Rotoma rhyolite eruptions (-7.9 and -9.4. cal. ka BP, respectively) and on the NRF immediately prior to the -1314 CE Kaharoa eruption are candidates for earthquake static or dynamic stress triggers for those explosive eruptive events. Secondly, basalt dyke intrusion was also involved in the initiation of the Kaharoa eruption, so the spatial and temporal relationships between dyke intrusion, smaller displacement fault ruptures and initiation of the Kaharoa eruption appear closely connected. Thirdly, faulting events that are interpreted as co- or posteruption may be the result of stress triggers associated with magma chamber deflation.