Sol de Mañana

Coordinates: 22°25′35″S 67°45′35″W / 22.42639°S 67.75972°W / -22.42639; -67.75972
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Sol de Mañana
Highest point
Elevation4,900 m (16,100 ft) Edit this on Wikidata
Coordinates22°25′35″S 67°45′35″W / 22.42639°S 67.75972°W / -22.42639; -67.75972[1]
Geography
Sol de Mañana is located in Bolivia
Sol de Mañana
Sol de Mañana

Sol de Mañana is an area with

fumaroles, hot springs and mud pools. It lies at about 4,900 metres (16,100 ft) elevation, south of Laguna Colorada and east of El Tatio geothermal field. The field is located within the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve and is an important tourism attraction on the road between Uyuni and Antofagasta. The field has been prospected as a possible geothermal power production site, with research beginning in the 1970s and after a pause recommencing in 2010. Development is ongoing as of 2023
.

Description

Sol de Mañana lies in the

hydrothermally altered rocks[6] and sometimes they are considered to be separate geothermal fields.[8]

Steam/water emissions can under exceptional circumstances reach heights of 200 metres (660 ft). Gas vents release

Seismic swarms and earthquakes have been recorded in the field.[10] Sol de Mañana lies at about 4,900 metres (16,100 ft) elevation,[11] making it among the highest geothermal fields in the world.[12]

The nearest major communities are

Putana and Escalante southwest of Sol de Mañana,[7] and the Pastos Grandes and Cerro Guacha caldera systems.[4] The field lies 40 kilometres (25 mi)[18]-20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Laguna Colorada,[19] which can be reached from Sol de Mañana.[19] There are mines at Cerro Aguita Blanca, a few kilometres south of Sol de Mañana, and at Cerro Apacheta about five kilometres west-southwest;[6] the latter can be reached through another road from Sol de Mañana.[20]

Panorama of the vents, which form interconnected depressions in the ground and are filled with mud.
Panorama of the Sol de Mañana mudpools

Geology

Off the western coast of South America, the

high plateau commenced 25 million years ago before shifting eastward 12-6 million years ago.[6]

The Andean

Altiplano-Puna volcanic complex, which is underpinned by the Altiplano-Puna Magma Body[a].[6] The dry climate leads to an exceptional preservation of the volcanic landforms.[21] About 50 volcanoes in the Central Andes (Bolivia, northern Chile, northern Argentina) were active during the Holocene.[22]

Local

The landscape of Sol de Mañana

Sol de Mañana is part of the

Glacial erosion has taken place in the area during the past,[26] which has left moraines east and north-northwest of Sol de Mañana.[20]

silica and epidote; each of these layers is several hundred metres thick. Basement rocks were not encountered. This stratigraphy is similar to that at El Tatio, across the border in Chile.[27] The geothermal heat reservoir appears to be located within the ignimbrites and andesites.[28]

The heat may originate either in the Altiplano-Puna Magma Body or in the volcanic arc.[29] It is transported upward through convection, forming two heat reservoirs underground that are capped by a clay layer.[30] Precipitation water reaches the reservoirs through deep faults, which also allow heat circulation.[31] Drilling has shown that the reservoirs have temperatures of about 250–260 °C (482–500 °F).[19] The Sol de Mañana geothermal system may be physically connected to El Tatio,[32] with Sol de Mañana being closer to the heat source and Tatio an outflow at lower elevation.[33]

Climate and ecosystem

There is a weather station on Sol de Mañana.[34] Mean annual precipitation is about 75 millimetres (3.0 in) and mean temperatures are about 8.9 °C (48.0 °F).[13] The geothermal field is part of the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve[18] and one of the main tourism attractions on the Uyuni-Antofagasta road.[14]

Geothermal power generation

The 1973 oil crisis created the impetus for increased investigation of Bolivia's geothermal power resources, focusing on the Altiplano and the surrounding Andean ranges. Prospecting by the National Electricity Company and the state agency for geology identified Sajama, Salar de Empexa and Laguna Colorada as the most suitable areas for geothermal power generation.[9] A geothermal project began in 1978 and numerous drilling operations were undertaken in the following years; however development ceased in 1993 as the legal and political circumstances were unfavourable. A renewed effort began in 2010, spearheaded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, during which additional cores were drilled, but as of 2023 is still at its early stages[35] and as of 2016 is only used as process heat for the San Cristobal mine.[14] An electrical power potential of about 50–100 megawatts (67,000–134,000 hp) has been estimated.[19]

Laguna Colorada/Sol de Mañana are the main focus of geothermal power prospecting in Bolivia; other sites have drawn scarce interest.[3] As of 2016 Bolivia did not have any legislation specific for geothermal power generation.[36] Geothermal power development is also hindered by the remote location, which would require building large power transmission networks, and the low price of electricity in the country.[14]

Notes

  1. ^ The Altiplano-Puna Magmatic Body is an accumulation of magma in the crust of the Altiplano.[6]
  2. supereruption of Cerro Guacha.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b USGS 1992, p. 267.
  2. ^ Communication Ministry 2020.
  3. ^ a b Bona & Coviello 2016, p. 35.
  4. ^ a b c d De Silva & Francis 1991, p. 170.
  5. ^ Damir 2014, p. 156.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Pereyra Quiroga et al. 2023, p. 4.
  7. ^ a b c d De Silva & Francis 1991, p. 171.
  8. ^ Sullcani 2015, p. 668.
  9. ^ a b c Pereyra Quiroga et al. 2023, p. 1.
  10. ^ Pritchard et al. 2014, p. 98.
  11. ^ a b Pereyra Quiroga et al. 2023, p. 2.
  12. ^ Müller et al. 2022, p. 3.
  13. ^ a b Suaznabar, Quiroga & Villarreal 2019, p. 2.
  14. ^ a b c d Bona & Coviello 2016, p. 38.
  15. ^ Delgadillo & Puente 1998, p. 257.
  16. ^ Fernandez-Turiel et al. 2005, p. 127.
  17. ^ Pereyra Quiroga et al. 2023, p. 8.
  18. ^ a b Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energies 2022, p. 183.
  19. ^ a b c d e Sullcani 2015, p. 666.
  20. ^ a b c Sullcani 2015, p. 667.
  21. ^ a b c Pereyra Quiroga et al. 2023, p. 3.
  22. ^ Pritchard et al. 2014, p. 90.
  23. ^ Fernandez-Turiel et al. 2005, p. 128.
  24. ^ Ort 2009, p. 1.
  25. ^ a b Pereyra Quiroga et al. 2023, p. 5.
  26. ^ Delgadillo & Puente 1998, p. 258.
  27. ^ Pereyra Quiroga et al. 2023, pp. 5–6.
  28. ^ Pereyra Quiroga et al. 2023, p. 19.
  29. ^ Pereyra Quiroga et al. 2023, p. 15.
  30. ^ Pereyra Quiroga et al. 2023, p. 17.
  31. ^ Pereyra Quiroga et al. 2023, p. 18.
  32. ^ Cortecci et al. 2005, p. 568.
  33. ^ De Silva & Francis 1991, p. 172.
  34. ^ Lagos et al. 2023, p. 5.
  35. ^ Pereyra Quiroga et al. 2023, pp. 1–2.
  36. ^ Bona & Coviello 2016, p. 36.

Sources

External links

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