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.
Teplovoj potok i neftegazonosnost' (poluostrov Jamal, Tomskaja oblast') (Heat flow and presence of oil and gas (the Yamal peninsula, Tomsk region) )
Revisiting the data reduction of seafloor heat-flow measurement: The example of mapping hydrothermal venting site around Yonaguni Knoll IV in the South Okinawa Trough
Yonaguni Knoll IV is an active hydrothermal venting site located on the southern tip of a cross back-arc volcanic trail in the South Okinawa trough. We have compiled 22 heat-flow measurements on the seafloor around the Yonaguni Knoll IV site that reveal drastic heat-flow spatial variation. To obtain the appropriate heat-flow measurements from our recently rebuilt Lister-type marine heat probe, we have updated the processing algorithm in this study to avoid utilizing the sometimes-unstable temperature evolving data from the frictional heating stage. We have carefully calibrated and processed the observed data to yield robust estimates of the seafloor heat-flow emphasizing …
Geothermal exploration in a sedimentary basin: new continuous temperature data and physical rock properties from northern Oman
The lateral and vertical temperature distribution in Oman is so far only poorly understood, particularly in the area between Muscat and the Batinah coast, which is the area of this study and which is composed of Cenozoic sediments developed as part of a foreland basin of the Makran Thrust Zone. Temperature logs (T-logs) were run and physical rock properties of the sediments were analyzed to understand the temperature distribution, thermal and hydraulic properties, and heat-transport processes within the sedimentary cover of northern Oman. An advective component is evident in the otherwise conduction-dominated geothermal play system, and is caused by both …
Heat flow and geothermal gradients of the Campania region (Southern Italy) and their relationship to volcanism and tectonics
The heat flow and distribution of temperatures at depth in the Campania region were analysed and correlated with the volcanism and tectonics of the area. The temperature data, a part of the inventory of the AGIP, SAFEN and ENEL Companies (Inventario delle Risorse Geotermiche Nazionali), were gathered during drilling campaigns that began in 1940. The Campania region is characterised by the presence of two active and high-risk volcanic districts (the Campi Flegrei, Ischia and Vesuvius) emerging at the western boundary of the Campania Plain structural graben, and by the outcropping of the carbonate basement along the borders of the plain. …
High geothermal heat flux in close proximity to the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream
The Greenland ice sheet (GIS) is losing mass at an increasing rate due to surface melt and flow acceleration in outlet glaciers. Currently, there is a large disagreement between observed and simulated ice flow, which may arise from inaccurate parameterization of basal motion, subglacial hydrology or geothermal heat sources. Recently it was suggested that there may be a hidden heat source beneath GIS caused by a higher than expected geothermal heat flux (GHF) from the Earth's interior. Here we present the first direct measurements of GHF from beneath a deep fjord basin in Northeast Greenland. Temperature and salinity time series …
Terrestrial heat flow and crustal thermal structure of the Gonghe-Guide area, northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan plateau
The Gonghe-Guide area, which is located at the northeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, has the greatest hot dry rock (HDR) geothermal resources exploration and development potential in China. Separated by the Waligong tectonomagmatic belt, the study area includes the Gonghe and Guide basins, which are characterized by distinctly different thermal state and surface thermal manifestations. Although a number of geophysical explorations have been undertaken, studies on fundamental geothermal theory remain scarce, including a lack of high-quality heat flow determinations and thermal structure studies. In this study, we obtained continuous steady-state temperature logs from three deep boreholes (GR2 and DR3 …
Probabilistic Surface Heat Flow Estimates Assimilating Paleoclimate History: New Implications for the Thermochemical Structure of Ireland
Abstract Regions where surface temperature has increased since past glaciation events, such as Ireland, underestimate the heat output of the Earth unless paleoclimate corrections are applied. We apply probabilistic techniques to quantify the uncertainty of 22 paleoclimate-corrected heat flow estimates in Ireland, which assimilate multiple surface temperature histories associated with 130 ka of glacial oscillation in the British Isles. Heat flow values increase by ∼15 mW/m2 after a paleoclimate correction and provide new insights into the thermochemical structure of the lithosphere. The heat flow regime is broadly delineated by the Iapetus Suture Zone that separates Laurentian to the north and …
Heat flow and lithospheric thickness analysis in the Patagonian asthenospheric windows, southern South America
The lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is a first-order discontinuity, essential to understand the Earth composition and evolution. However, its detection has been critical and several regions still lack of coverage. Southern Patagonia, in southern most South America, is one such area, which has been affected by the subduction of a seismic oceanic ridge (South Chile Ridge) and formation of an extensive slab window since 12 Ma. We calculate the LAB position by defining the thermal lithospheric thickness of the southernmost Patagonia using the thermal conductivity equation to estimate the surface heat flow. We used data from seventy-five hydrocarbon wells of two …
Anomalously high geothermal flux near the South Pole
Melting at the base of the Antarctic Ice Sheet influences ice dynamics and our ability to recover ancient climatic records from deep ice cores. Basal melt rates are affected by geothermal flux, one of the least constrained properties of the Antarctic continent. Estimates of Antarctic geothermal flux are typically regional in nature, derived from geological, magnetic or seismic data, or from sparse point measurements at ice core sites. We analyse ice-penetrating radar data upstream of South Pole revealing a 100 km long and 50 km wide area where internal ice sheet layers converge with the bed. Ice sheet modelling shows …
South-Ukrainian monocline, Scythian plate, Black sea
Heat flow map and geothermal resources in Mexico
Heat flow–heat production relationship not found: what drives heat flow variability of the Western Canadian foreland basin?
Heat flow high −80 ± 10 mW/m2 in the northern western parts of the Western Canadian foreland basin is in large contrast to low heat flow to the south and east (50 ± 7 mW/m2) of the same basin with the same old 2E09 year’s Precambrian basement and some 200-km-thick lithosphere. Over-thrusted and flat-laying sedimentary units are heated from below by heat flow from the old craton’ crust and low 15 ± 5 mW/m2 mantle contribution. The heat flow vs. radiogenic heat production statistical relationship is not found for this area. To account for this large heat flow contrast and …
The First Heat Flow Measurements on the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago
On the formation of hydrothermal vents and cold seeps in the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California
Heat flow, morphology, pore fluids and hydrothermal circulation in a typical Mid-Atlantic Ridge flank near Oceanographer Fracture Zone
Modelling present and future permafrost thermal regimes in Northeast Greenland
Permafrost is vulnerable to rapid changes in climate, and increasing air temperatures have recently resulted in the increase of active layer thickness, thaw subsidence and warming of the underlying permafrost. Such changes have important implications for geotechnical properties and the stability of infrastructures in permafrost-affected areas. Many studies focus on the sensitivity of the active layer with respect to changes in climate conditions, but few assess the sensitivity of active layer thermal properties in relation to sediment types and soil water contents, and the importance of direct measurements of thermal property sensitivity with respect to soil water content compared to …
Heat flow in Rajasthan Craton, North–Western Indian Shield and its Implications
Complex geothermal gradients and their implications, deepwater Sabah, Malaysia
Crustal heat production and estimate of terrestrial heat flow in central East Antarctica, with implications for thermal input to the East Antarctic ice sheet
Terrestrial heat flow is a critical first-order factor governing the thermal condition and, therefore, mechanical stability of Antarctic ice sheets, yet heat flow across Antarctica is poorly known. Previous estimates of terrestrial heat flow in East Antarctica come from inversion of seismic and magnetic geophysical data, by modeling temperature profiles in ice boreholes, and by calculation from heat production values reported for exposed bedrock. Although accurate estimates of surface heat flow are important as an input parameter for ice-sheet growth and stability models, there are no direct measurements of terrestrial heat flow in East Antarctica coupled to either subglacial sediment …