Compartmentalization of the Coso East Flank geothermal field imaged by 3-D full-tensor MT inversion
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Abstract
Previous magnetotelluric (MT) studies of the high-temperature Coso geothermal system in California identified a subvertical feature of low resistivity (2–5 Ohm m) and appreciable lateral extent (>1 km) in the producing zone of the East Flank field. However, these models could not reproduce gross 3-D effects in the recorded data. We perform 3-D full-tensor inversion and retrieve a resistivity model that out-performs previous 2-D and 3-D off-diagonal models in terms of its fit to the complete 3-D MT data set as well as the degree of modelling bias. Inclusion of secondary Zxx and Zyy data components leads to a robust east-dip (60†) to the previously identified conductive East Flank reservoir feature, which correlates strongly with recently mapped surface faults, downhole well temperatures, 3-D seismic reflection data, and local microseismicity. We perform synthetic forward modelling to test the best-fit dip of this conductor using the response at a nearby MT station. We interpret the dipping conductor as a fractured and fluidized compartment, which is structurally controlled by an unmapped blind East Flank fault zone.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Compartmentalization of the Coso East Flank geothermal field imaged by 3-D full-tensor MT inversion |
| Series title | Geophysical Journal International |
| DOI | 10.1093/gji/ggw408 |
| Volume | 208 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Year Published | 2017 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Oxford Academic |
| Contributing office(s) | Earthquake Science Center |
| Description | 11 p. |
| First page | 652 |
| Last page | 662 |
| Country | United States |
| Other Geospatial | Coso Range |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |