Literature Review
The Global Heat Flow Database (GHFDB) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of data quality. To achieve this, we have implemented a rigorous literature review process that ensures all datasets are thoroughly vetted before being made publicly available. To learn more about the review process and how you can contribute, please click the button below.
High Heat Flow Anomaly Within the St Paul Fracture Zone: Heat Advection and/or Inherent Thermal Structure?
Abstract Heat flow across oceanic transform faults (TFs) and fracture zones (FZs) has rarely been studied in detail, despite these features representing distinct thermal boundaries within the oceanic lithosphere. Here, we present heat flow measurements across the St Paul fracture zone (SPFZ) in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, from 48 Ma crust in the south to 71 Ma in the north. To the north of the FZ we find a basal heat flow of 63 mWm−2, and to the south a basal heat flow of 79 mWm−2, both in agreement with plate cooling models. However, within the SPFZ we find a …
Shallow geothermal heat in Western Canada: climatic warming impact changes with time– depth
<p>Gain of heat and temperature in the shallow subsurface over the last decades/century has been impacted by the industrial period climatic surface air temperature (SAT) increase. Detailed study of the available temperature-depth data based on 43 wells with single and repeated temperature logs done by the first author has been combined with data base information (Jessop et al 2005) to create temperature maps at depth. Based on these 43 logs it is shown that the heat flux increases with&nbsp;depth in most cases for the available depth data range from surface to some 200m. Model of heat flow versus depth based …
Terrestrial heat flow and subsidence of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea
We analysed the bathymetry and both marine and continental heat-flow data of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea basins. Bathymetry was corrected for the subsidence caused by sediment deposition to obtain the water-loaded seafloor depth. The thermal measurements were critically reviewed and corrected for sedimentation by 1–13 mW m−2 and for climatic changes by 4–5 mW m−2 to infer the purely conductive terrestrial heat flow. The seafloor depths and thermal data of the Ionian, Herodotus and Levantine basins were compared to reference models of continental lithosphere stretching and ocean plate cooling. In the Levantine Basin, the seafloor depth of 5.0 km argues …
Revisiting the San Andreas Heat Flow Paradox From the Perspective of Seismic Efficiency and Elastic Power in Southern California
Abstract We investigate the relation between frictional heating on a fault and the resulting conductive surface heat flow anomaly using the fault's long-term energy budget. Analysis of the surface heat flow surrounding the fault trace leads to a constraint on the frictional power generated on the fault—the mechanism behind the San Andreas fault (SAF) heat flow paradox. We revisit this paradox from a new perspective using an estimate of the long-term accumulating elastic power in the region surrounding the fault, and analyze the paradox using two parameters: the seismic efficiency and the elastic power. The results show that the constraint …
On the intriguing subject of the low amplitudes of magnetic anomalies at the Powell Basin
The Powell Basin is a small oceanic basin bounded by continental blocks that fragmented during break up of Antarctica from South America. This basin bounds the South Orkney Microcontinent to the east, the South Scotia Ridge to the north, and the Antarctic Peninsula to the west. The timing of its opening is poorly constrained due to the low amplitude of the oceanic spreading magnetic anomalies which hampers their identification and interpretation causing large uncertainties in proposed ages that range from the Late Eocene to Early Miocene. This basin has been extensively studied using a variety of geophysical methods including seismic, …
Heat flow of northern Norway, new data and geodynamic implications
The present contribution introduces new heat flow data from northern Norway, a region of the Baltic Shied and Scandinavian Caledonides that has been poorly covered until now. We computed heat flow values based on data gathered in ten boreholes reaching total depths ranging between ∼390 m and 960 m below ground level. Abundant core material for five of the studied boreholes allowed for precise determination of thermal conductivity profiles. The new determinations represent significant improvement with respect to the few pre-existing heat flow values that were based on shallow drillholes and lake measurements. The obtained heat flow values range between …
Update and Review of Continental Conductive Surface Heat Flow Measurements in México: An Analysis of Deep Boreholes
Conductive heat flow is an important parameter that is used to explain, directly or indirectly, several geological, geophysical and geochemical processes in the Earth´s interior. It is also one of the main input parameters for reliable estimations of resources related with geothermal and petroleum systems. That is because heat flow is used to describe subsurface temperature profiles and heat transfer mechanisms, thereby enabling the establishment of heat storage reserves in the case of geothermal systems and conditions of thermal maturation of organic matter in petroleum genesis. Since 2014, collection of data to estimate new continental conductive heat flow values in …
Prediction of Terrestrial Heat Flow in Songliao Basin Based on Deep Neural Network
Abstract Heat flow is a geothermal parameter for indicating the heat source distribution and evaluating geothermal reservoirs. Only 1,230 heat flow points are distributed unevenly in China, mainly concentrated in high-temperature geothermal and southeast regions. The Songliao Basin is a potential geothermal field in China. Still, only 20 measurement points are known, making evaluating the geothermal genetic mechanism difficult. Sparse data interpolation using deep learning methods is highly accurate and widely used in fields such as image processing. In this work, we propose a deep neural network for predicting heat flow in the Songliao Basin. More than 4,000 global heat …
Heat flow variations in 2 km deep borehole Litoměřice, Czechia
Temperature in 2 km deep borehole Litoměřice, drilled in 2007, was repeatedly logged down to 1700 m in the period 2007 – 2020. We were able to monitor a return of the temperature to the equilibrium temperature-depth profile undisturbed by drilling. The uppermost part of the profile contains signal of the recent warming manifested by a negative temperature gradient close to the surface and a temperature minimum at a depth of about 40 m. The minimum has been migrating downward at a rate of 1.5 – 2 m per year in the period 2015 – 2020. A detailed knowledge of …
Heat flow and thermal regime in the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California: Estimates of conductive and advective heat transport
Abstract Heat flow is estimated at eight sites drilled int the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California, during the International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 385. The expedition sought to understand the thermal regime of the basin and heat transfer between off-axis sills intruding the organic-rich sediments of the Guaymas Basin, and the basin floor. The distinct sedimentation rates, active tectonics, and magmatism make the basin interesting for scientific discoveries. Results show that sedimentation corrected heat flow values range 119–221 mW/m2 in the basin and 257–1003 mW/m2 at the site of a young sill intrusion, denominated Ringvent. Thermal analysis shows that heat …
Thermal regime of the northwestern sector of the Norte Basin (Uruguay): geothermal gradient and heat flow
The infilling of Norte Basin comprises thick Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary units and Mesozoic basaltic flows mainly related to the evolution of Western Gondwana. In its northwestern sector, the Guaraní Aquifer System is located at increasing depths toward the west under thick volcanic rock coverage (up to 1,000 m), constituting a low-temperature geothermal system, which is currently used only for recreational and touristic purposes. To understand the thermal regime of the northwestern sector of the Norte Basin, the surface and subsurface temperatures were estimated from a diverse database that includes all the deep wells located in the study area. Geothermal …
Pilot study to determine the geothermal heat flux distribution in the Canton of Aargau. Final report
A known near-surface heat-flow density anomaly exists in the Canton of Aargau in Northern Switzerland. With previously calculated specific heat-flow values of up to 140mWm2, it is a region of interest for deep geothermal energy exploration. In this pilot study, we want to better understand the nature of this heat-flow anomaly and characterize the heat-flow distribution in its vicinity to facilitate future assessment of the geothermal potential of this region. To achieve a complete characterization of the heat-flow values as well as their spatial uncertainty, we develop a workflow comprising: (i) integration and standardization of different types of geological and …
Heat Flow variations in Siberia and neighboring regions: A new look
Heat flow data and thermal structure in northeastern Japan
New heat flow data corrected for climate change over Northeastern Japan were obtained using the temperature profile of the borehole of the High Sensitivity Seismograph Network (Hi-net). The obtained spatial distribution of heat flow shows low heat flow on the forearc side, high heat flow along the Ou Backbone Range, and low heat flow in the plains on the back-arc side. However, the distribution is not clearly divided into high and low heat flow along the VF front; for example, the low heat flow extends from near the northern Kitakami Mountains on the forearc side to the Ou Backbone Range …
Heat flow in the Main Karoo Basin, South Africa
The Main Karoo Basin, and its Late Carboniferous to Early Jurassic stratified fill, the Karoo Supergroup, is the largest geological entity in South Africa and one of the economically most strategic because of its coal resources and potential shale gas resources. It also has a potential future in renewable energy in the form of geothermal energy. Although the basin has not received sufficient dedicated attention from a thermal perspective, numerous heat flow studies have resulted in the gradual accumulation of a substantial data base of the thermal conductivity of the constituent rocks, geothermal gradients and heat flow data. The main …
Heat flow and 2D multichannel seismic reflection survey of the Devil's Hole geothermal reservoir in the Wagner basin, northern Gulf of California
The Wagner basin, located in the northernmost Gulf of California, hosts a large reservoir with geothermal potential documented in recent heat flow surveys. Although there is evidence of heat generation above the average value for an oceanic crust in the Wagner basin, it is unclear what the heat source is. To better understand the thermal structure in the northern Gulf of California, we acquired four 2D multichannel seismic reflection profiles and two systematic heat flow profiles across the Wagner basin. The survey targeted a geothermal anomaly, which we denominated “Devil's Hole” in a clear reference to pockmarks on the seafloor, …
High heat flow at the SW passive margin of the Gulf of California
Abstract New high heat flow data confirm the presence of a heat source in the passive margin of the southern Baja California Peninsula that is not linked with volcanic activity. The high heat discharge is spatially associated with low seismic velocity, crustal thinning, intense seismic activity, documented local extension, shallow Curie Point Depth and silica geothermometer temperatures above 100°C. The highly oblique rifting regime in the centre of the Gulf of California generates a transtensional setting conducive to local extension in its southwest margin. Similar high heat flow in a rifted margin has been reported only in the Gulf of …
Thermal regime of sedimentary basins in the Tarim, Upper Yangtze and North China Cratons, China
Heat flow and gravity anomalies in some presumed hidden geothermal prospects in Java
The currently developed geothermal fields in Java are hosted by Quaternary volcanic complexes in the central zone of the island. Those fields have many vigorous thermal manifestations. However, seismic tomography shows the presence of an east-west-trending, low P-wave velocity (Vp) zones along the island. This indicates the presence of some hot, molten mass at depth, and provides the possibility of the existence of subsurface heat energy resource that can be utilized despite the rarity of surface manifestations. We investigate the heat flow and gravity anomalies in the areas lacking thermal manifestations, namely Paguyangan, Candi Umbul-Telomoyo, Pablengan, and Parang Wedang. The …
Abnormally low heat flow in Southeast China resulted from remnant slab subducted beneath the east Asian lithosphere
Abstract Subducted remnant slabs play an important role in the geodynamics and evolution of the Earth, but their behaviour in the mantle is not well understood. Terrestrial heat flow and thermal lithosphere structure provide crucial constraints on lithospheric dynamics. Based on whole-well steady-state temperature logs and conductivity measurements of core samples from a scientific borehole, we obtained a new high-quality terrestrial heat flow values for East Asia. The heat flow was calculated at 60.6 ± 16.0 mW/m2 with a high crust/mantle heat flow ratio of 1.41, suggesting a hot-crust-cold-mantle lithospheric structure. The thermal lithospheric thickness of eastern Fujian is estimated …