Artículo de publicación ISIThis work aims to assess geothermal power potential in identified high enthalpy geothermal areas in the Chilean Andes, based on reservoir temperature and volume. In addition, we present a set of highly favorable geothermal areas, but without enough data in order to quantify the resource. Information regarding geothermal systems was gathered and ranked to assess Indicated or Inferred resources, depending on the degree of confidence that a resource may exist as indicated by the geoscientific information available to review. Resources were estimated through the USGS Heat in Place method. A Monte Carlo approach is used to quantify variability in boundary conditions. Estimates of total Indicated resource are confined to 3 geothermal systems; Apacheta, El Tatio and Tolhuaca, yielding a total value of 228 +/- 154 MWe. The estimates of the total Inferred resources for Chile include 6 geothermal systems and yield a total value of 431 +/- 321 MWe. Standard deviation reflects the high variability of reservoir specific parameters for each system. A set of 65 favorable geothermal areas are proposed as the most likely future development targets. Eight of them have initial exploration results that suggest they are highly favorable targets as potential geothermal resources.FONDAP/CONICYT (Centro de Excelencia en Geotermia de los Andes, CEGA) 15090013 Departamento de Geologia, FCFM, Universidad de Chile Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory under U.S. Department of Energy U.S. Department of Energy DE-AC02-05CH1123

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Understanding the relationship between crustal faults and volcanic activity in transpressional environments is a main goal in geosciences and could help to understand geothermal resources and evaluate geological hazards. In the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ), Chile, recorded seismicity is scarce, and few studies have evaluated the relationship between volcanic activity and crustal faults from seismic observations. Thus, in this study, we deployed a seismic network for almost 1 year to understand the brittle deformation of the upper crust within the Puyuhuapi area, located at~44°S in the SVZ. We analyzed the location and kinematics of seismicity together with previously published field structural geological data. Considering these results, we developed an integrative tectonic model for the area and discussed which faults facilitate magma transport through the crust. Our results indicate the existence of two NNE-oriented seismogenic dextral to dextral-reverse regional faults that generate a duplex in a continental-scale fault setting. Inside the duplex, we observed normal to strike-slip normal focal mechanisms which recurrently have NE trending nodal planes. At a regional scale, a strike-slip tectonic environment has a N60°E/18°shortening direction and a N151°E/03°extension direction. We conclude that stratovolcanoes are located inside the duplex in a local transtensional environment where NE oriented normal faulting may occur. These faults facilitate magma transport since they represent the preferential orientation for dilatational fractures. Conversely, in local transpressional environments such as the Puyuhuapi fault (NNE oriented dextral to dextral-reverse kinematics), only minor eruptive centers of small volume are emplaced, suggesting a less productive magma transportation process.

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