Multilevel transcrustal magmatic system beneath the Geysers-Clear Lake area

Abstract

Magmatism in the Quaternary Clear Lake volcanic field (CLVF), with its youngest eruption having only occurred c. 10 ka ago, is commonly invoked as the heat source for the world’s largest commercial geothermal reservoir, The Geysers, in northern California. A shallow silicic magma reservoir in the upper-middle crust has been discovered for some time, but the location and mechanism of a potential deep mafic magma reservoir have remained elusive. Here, we present a seismic tomographic model that images the entire crustal column, clearly revealing a multilevel transcrustal magmatic system beneath the Geysers-Clear Lake area. Upwelling melts from the mantle traverse across the crust-mantle boundary and accumulate in the lower crust underneath the southeastern part of Clear Lake, resulting in a hot Moho in between. Mafic melts primarily ascend westward due to the extensional regime in the west and physical barrier effect from the overlying rigid ophiolite fragment, ultimately forming a shallow silicic magma reservoir underlying and heating The Geysers geothermal field. In addition, this study also links compositionally diverse volcanism in a continental setting to differentiation in a multilevel transcrustal magmatic system.