Geysers
Since 2010, I have been studying geyser systems. Geysers are hot springs that periodically or episodically erupt liquid water and vapor. They are uncommon because they require a combination of abundant water recharge, magmatism to supply heat and silica, and fractures or cavities to trap rising multiphase fluids. Fewer than 1000 geysers have been reported on Earth and most geysers are concentrated in three geyser fields: Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, United States), Geyser Valley (Kamchatka, Russia), and El Tatio (Atacama, Chile).
El Tatio
Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes
The El Tatio geyser field is located in the Altiplano area of the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile. The elevation of the area is 4.2 to 4.3 km above sea level, where the boiling temperature of water is approximately 86.6°C. El Tatio is the third largest geyser field in the world and includes more than 100 active geysers. The water supply is coming from the highest mountains at > 5 km. The heat is provided by Late Pleistocene-Holocene andesitic stratovolcanoes (with non-historical eruptions) that surround the geyser field. Permeability is dominated by open fractures in the ignimbrite layers. This field is an excellent natural laboratory for volcano-hydrothermal process due to its geology, the variety of active manifestations, and the high degree of preservation of their deposits.
Eruption Cicles
Thermodynamic conditions inside of geyser conduits
Eruption Stages
IR images and temperature time series, every peak represents an eruption. During the eruption, temperature increased because hot erupted water reached the sensors. (b) Zoom on 35 s of a single eruption (box). Stars with numbers are the key stages in the eruption cycle. High temperature, in red, is related to boiling water coming out of the conduit during the eruption. Image (c) was taken shortly after the start of the eruption at point 3, and it shows the high temperature in the mouth of the conduit. Between points 4 and 6, temperature remains close to Tboil, the boiling point; subsequent images (d), (e), and (f) show a high volume of hot water coming out of the conduit. At point 6, temperature decreases (sensor in contact with air). The volume of hot water drops (g) identifying the end of the eruption at the surface.
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Eruption cicles
Water pressure and temperature during the eruption cycles, for ~ 3531 eruptions. Gray arrows show the evolution of pressure and temperature with respect to time. Black curves show the average and the black bars show the standard deviation of the data. Green lines show the calculated boiling curve for pure water. We observe that before the eruption (points 1 to 3), the temperature of the water is almost constant at all depths. Temperature in the lower conduit increases (points 3 to 5) until reaching the boiling curve. (Munoz-Saez et al., 2015 JVGR).
Geyser eruption captured with infrared camera
Conceptual model
Geysers erupt with different styles, we recognize some common features: the conduit recharges with liquid during the quiescent period, bubbles enter the conduit before eruptions, and eruptions occur when water boils in the upper part of the conduit. Eruptions are triggered by the episodic addition of steam coming from depth suggesting that the dynamics of the eruptions are dominated by geometrical and thermodynamic complexities in the conduit and deeper reservoir. Steam can be trapped in shallow cavities or "bubble traps" that allow episodic release into geyser conduits. The depth and size of the where heat is added dictates the eruption style: conduits with deeper heat input are more likely to show minor eruptions or "pre-plays" before a main eruption. Some geysers can be connected to other thermal features by permeable pathways in the subsurface, that geysers are sensitive to pressure variations in the conduits of nearby features.
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Alpehue Geyser Field
South Volcanic Zone, Chile
Alpehue is a small geyser field located on the south east flank of the Sollipulli volcano in the SVZ of Chile. These geysers are part of the Chilean geopark Kutralkura in the Araucanía Region of Chile. Alpehue field hosts several types of surface hydrothermal manifestations including perpetual spouters, sub-boiling hot springs, mud pools and sinter deposits. The different features occur in distinct geological units and are distributed at different topographic elevations Our observations suggest that the high incision of the river enables the discharge of boiling water (rich in silica) at the surface. Precipitation of sinter at the surface, coupled with the high permeability of the breccia, creates a configuration that enables geysers to form and sustain episodic activity.
Drone video of Alpehue
