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Updated 3D resistivity model of the Tres Vírgenes geothermal field (Mexico) from magnetotelluric data: Implications for geothermal exploration and development

2025· article· en· W4415137274 on OpenAlexaff
Javier González-Garcia, Martyn Unsworth, Oscar Campos-Enríquez, Yanet Antayhua

Bibliographic record

VenueGeothermics · 2025
Typearticle
Languageen
FieldEarth and Planetary Sciences
TopicGeophysical and Geoelectrical Methods
Canadian institutionsUniversity of Alberta
FundersFundación para el futuro de Colombia
KeywordsMagnetotelluricsGeothermal gradientGeothermal explorationField (mathematics)Geothermal energy

Abstract

fetched live from OpenAlex

A case study is presented involving the 3D inversion of a legacy magnetotelluric (MT) dataset from the Tres Vírgenes Volcanic Complex (TVVC), Baja California Sur, Mexico, which is a significant geothermal energy resource with an installed capacity of 10 MWe. The MT dataset consists of 76 stations acquired between 1992 and 1999 (bandwidth: 0.003 – 100 Hz), and was previously analyzed using 1D, 2D, and 3D approaches, revealing a layered resistivity structure. However, significant uncertainty surrounds the capability of this dataset to resolve deep resistivity structures associated with the magmatic system. This study applies a 3D inversion approach that incorporates topography and bathymetry and inversion tests to assess the sensitivity of the model features to the data. Well-logs and laboratory measurements of resistivity were used to constrain the interpretation. The integrated methodology enabled a more accurate delineation of the resistivity structure of the TVVC, mapping an extensive conductor primarily associated with a brine-saturated smectite clay cap (10 – 60 % clay fraction, 150 – 200 °C). Internal variability within the conductor suggests the presence of a small sill with andesitic mush (30 – 85 % melt fraction) north of El Azufre Volcano, possibly associated with sulphate-type hydrothermal activity along the El Azufre Fault Zone. Moreover, a zone of lower resistivity to the north of the main conductor suggests a possible intrusion of seawater that remains isolated from the main hydrothermal systems in TVVC. Sensitivity tests indicate that the dataset lacks the resolution required to image deep bodies beneath the main conductor; consequently, deep conductors modelled in previous studies are likely inversion artifacts, and are unrelated to the deep magmatic system. These findings have the potential to improve the delineation of the geothermal system boundaries, and provide insights for future geothermal and magnetotelluric exploration.

Fetched live from OpenAlex and de-inverted. Abstracts are not stored in this database: the inverted indexes are 8.6 GB of the frame’s 9.3 GB of text, and the host has 13 GB free.

How this classification was reachedexpand

Full frame machine prediction

Teacher imitation

Not calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.

metaresearch head score (Codex)0.000
metaresearch head score (Gemma)0.001
Version: metacan-v3-hybrid-931329e0061cValidation status: machine_predicted_unvalidated
Candidate categoriesnone
Consensus categoriesnone
DomainCandidate signal: none · Consensus signal: none
Study designCandidate signal: Simulation or modeling · Consensus signal: Simulation or modeling
GenreCandidate signal: Empirical · Consensus signal: Empirical
Teacher disagreement score0.092
Threshold uncertainty score0.182

Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)

CategoryCodexGemma
Metaresearch0.0000.001
Meta-epidemiology (narrow)0.0000.000
Meta-epidemiology (broad)0.0000.000
Bibliometrics0.0010.001
Science and technology studies0.0000.000
Scholarly communication0.0010.000
Open science0.0010.000
Research integrity0.0010.000
Insufficient payload (model declined to judge)0.0010.000

Machine scores (provisional)

The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.

Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.

Opus teacher head0.054
GPT teacher head0.273
Teacher spread0.220 · how far apart the two teachers sit on this one work
Validation statusscore_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from it

Classification

machine, unvalidated

Machine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.

The models applied no category: nothing in the taxonomy fit this work.
Study designSimulation or modeling
Domainnot available
GenreEmpirical

How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".

Quick stats

Citations2
Published2025
Admission routes1
Has abstractyes

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