Mapping the edge of the Cerros del Rio volcanic field, New Mexico: a piece of the puzzle to understanding a potential geothermal resource

The Cerros del Rio volcanic field located west of Santa Fe, New Mexico spans the southwestern part of the Espanola Basin with the Rio Grande to the west. Underlying the volcanics are the Santa Fe Group sediments, which contain the Ancha Formation, an important aquifer in the region. High temperature gradients in water wells reveal a potential geothermal prospect. In 2012 the Summer of Applied Geophysical Experience (SAGE) program acquired transient electromagnetic (TEM), audiomagnetotelluric (AMT), gravity and ground magnetic data to determine the buried eastern margin of the volcanic field and the connectivity related to the underlying sediments. The roughly EW 5-km long transect was sited from USGS aeromagnetic data to cross the boundary of the Cerros del Rio volcanic field. TEM data collected at ten stations, at 200-400 m spacing, along the transect employed an in-loop configuration with a square 100 m x 100 m transmitter loop and both a Zonge receiver coil and a 5 m square receiver loop. The 5 m loop allowed for the recovery of early-time data that was saturated when using the Zonge coil. AMT data were acquired at eight stations, at 400-500 m spacing, using the Geometric Stratagem system recording from 92 kHz to 10 Hz; a horizontal magnetic dipole transmitter was used to augment low signal strength at around 1 kHz. Gravity data along the profile were acquired using CG-3 and CG-5 Scintrex gravimeters with a station interval >250 m. Magnetic data were acquired with a Geometrics Cesium vapor G-858 magnetometer for about 3500 m along the profile at a 0.5 second sampling rate. Two volcanic flows interbedded with Ancha Formation and overlying Santa Fe Group sediments were identified in both the TEM and AMT modeling. High surface resistivity zones (>300 ohm-m) with depths ranging from ~100 to 300 m define the volcanic flows and correspond to high densities (2.3 to 2.55 g/cm3), while low resistivity zones (<30 ohm-m) correspond to lower densities (~2.1 g/cm3). High spatial-frequency magnetic variations are a possible indication of different volcanic flows that are characterized by normal or reverse remnant magnetization. The upper flow (normally polarized) is inferred to extend beyond the study area and, therefore, past the end of the Cerros del Rio volcanic field boundary defined by USGS aeromagnetic data.