Structural controls on hydrothermal flow in a segmented rift system, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

Vigorous hydrothermal convection transfers 10 times the average continental heat flow through the central Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), a region of active extension (approximately 8 mm year(-1)) and productive rhyolitic volcanism. Over 20 high-temperature ( > 250degreesC) geothermal fields occur within Quaternary pyroclastic basins, with convective circulation to depths of 7-8 km presumably extending through basement rocks. Parallel-striking normal faults, fractures and dikes dissect the convective regime, interacting with fluids to either enhance or restrict flow according to the relative permeability of structure and host rock. In the basement, high bulk permeability is maintained by focussed flow through faults and associated fractures well oriented for reactivation in the prevailing stress field. In contrast, distributed flow through fault-bounded compartments prevails within Quaternary basins, masking any signal of deeper structural control. Exceptions occur where more competent rocks are exposed at the surface. As in narrow magmatic rifts elsewhere, the extensional fabric is partitioned into discrete rift segments linked along strike by accommodation zones. Eighty per cent of TVZ geothermal fields correlate spatially with rift architecture, with 60% located in accommodation zones. We suggest that segmented rift fabrics generate bulk permeability anisotropy that is to some extent predictable, with rift segments characterized by enhanced axial flow, and accommodation zones characterized by locally enhanced vertical permeability that is tectonically maintained. This provides a plausible explanation for the common occurrence of geothermal fields within accommodation zones and their notable absence within densely faulted rift segments. Maintenance of structural permeability in zones of active hydrothermal precipitation necessarily requires repeated brittle failure. Geothermal plumes therefore exploit tectonically maintained permeability within accommodation zones, with rift segments functioning mostly as drawdown regions. The influence of rift architecture on flow paths has important implications for geothermal extraction and epithermal mineral exploration within the TVZ and other structurally segmented hydrothermal systems, both active and extinct.