Correlation between terrestrial heat flow and thermal conductivity

1971 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. S. Naidu
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Heat Flow ◽  
Terrestrial Heat Flow

scholarly journals Present-day geothermal regime of the Uliastai Depression, Erlian Basin, North China

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 770-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Xu ◽  
Shaopeng Huang ◽  
Jiong Zhang ◽  
Ruyang Yu ◽  
Yinhui Zuo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Heat Flow ◽  
Thermal Structure ◽  
Rheological Characteristic ◽  
Rheological Parameter ◽  
Lithospheric Thickness ◽  
Terrestrial Heat Flow ◽  
Geothermal Regime ◽  
Mantle Heat Flow ◽  
Erlian Basin

In this study, we calculated the present-day terrestrial heat flow of the Uliastai Depression in Erlian Basin by using systematical steady-state temperature data obtained from four deep boreholes and 89 thermal conductivity measurements from 22 boreholes. Then, we calculated the lithospheric thermal structure, thermal lithospheric thickness, and lithospheric thermo-rheological structure by combining crustal structure, thermal conductivity, heat production, and rheological parameter data. Research from the Depression shows that the present-day terrestrial heat flow ( qs) is 86.3 ± 2.3 mW/m2, higher than the average of 60.4 ± 12.3 mW/m2 of the continental area of China. Mantle heat flow ( qm) in the Depression ranges from 33.7 to 39.3 mW/m2, qm/ qs ranges from 40 to 44%, show that the crust plays the dominant position in the terrestrial heat flow. The thermal thickness of the lithosphere is about 74–88 km and characterized by a “strong crust–weak mantle” rheological characteristic. The total lithospheric strength is 1.5 × 1012 N/m under wet mantle conditions. Present-day geothermal regime indicates that the Uliastai Depression has a high thermal background, the activity of the deep-seated lithosphere is relatively intense. This result differs significantly from the earlier understanding that the area belongs to a cold basin. However, a hot basin should be better consistent with the evidences from lithochemistry and geophysical observations. The results also show the melts/fluids in the study area may be related to the subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. The study of the geothermal regime in the Uliastai Depression provides new geothermal evidence for the volcanic activity in the eastern part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and has significant implications for the geodynamic characteristics.

scholarly journals Characteristics of geothermal reservoirs in the Wumishan Formation and groundwater of the Middle-Upper Proterozoic and the geothermal status in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region: Implications for geothermal resources exploration

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 811-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Zhang ◽  
Hancheng Ji ◽  
Liang Chen ◽  
Jinxia Liu ◽  
Haiquan Li
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Heat Flow ◽  
Atmospheric Precipitation ◽  
Geothermal Resources ◽  
Geothermal Exploration ◽  
Geothermal Reservoirs ◽  
Terrestrial Heat Flow ◽  
Groundwater Supply ◽  
Taihang Mountain ◽  
Wumishan Formation

Exploration of the geothermal resources in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region has been kept for tens of years, and the recent success of geothermal exploration in the Xiongxian County provides a new model for the utilization of geothermal resources in this area. This research integrates the formation of temperature obtained from hydrocarbon drilling, experiments of reservoirs’ micro-characteristics and physical property, and employs the previous works on the regional geological settings to investigate the geothermal reservoirs and geothermal status. The microphotography indicates that the reservoir space is dominated by supergene karst in the Wumishan Formation which is mainly controlled by the topography when the interval emerged. The groundwater in the Pre-Paleogene has the similar composition of the hydrogen and oxygen isotope with the atmospheric precipitation, and the salinity of the groundwater has an increasing trend from the Taihang Mountain and the Yanshan Mountain to the depocenters, which indicates the groundwater originates from the atmospheric precipitation of the Taihang Mountain and the Yanshan Mountain and transports to the depocenters. The thermal conductivity of the lower carbonate rocks is much higher than the upper clastic intervals. This difference makes the upper clastic intervals of the Paleogene and the Neogene good seals for geothermal reservoirs and leads to the regional anomaly of the terrestrial heat flow: the intrabasin highs have a thicker thickness of the Pre-Paleogene carbonate deposition with high thermal conductivity, which results in high efficient thermal transmission and high terrestrial heat flow. Consequently, this research suggests that the intrabasin highs and slopes are the favourable areas for geothermal exploration with reservoirs of good quality, high terrestrial heat flow and efficient groundwater supply, and several areas were selected to be the potential targets for the Wumishan Formation and the Pre-Paleogene.

scholarly journals A Method for Measurement of Terrestrial Heat Flow Density in Water Wells

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Janilo Santos ◽  
Valiya M. Hamza ◽  
Po-Yu Shen
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Heat Flow ◽  
Mass Flow Rate ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Flow Density ◽  
Heat Flow Density ◽  
Terrestrial Heat Flow ◽  
The Mean

ABSTRACT. A simple method for measurement of terrestrial heat flow density in wells drawing groundwater from confined aquifers is presented. It requires laboratory determination of thermal resistance but the field work is simple, being limited to measurement of temperature of water at the well mouth during pumping tests.The aquifer temperature (Ta) is calculated from the measured temperature at the well mouth (Tw), the mass flow rate (M) and the depth to the top of the aquifer (H) using the relation(Tw – To) / (Ta – To) = M'R [1 – exp(–1/M'R)]where To is the mean annual surface temperature, R a dimensionless diffusion parameter and M' = MC/KH is the dimensionless mass flow rate, C being the specific heat of water and K the thermal conductivity of the rock formation penetrated by the well. The heat flow density (q) is then calculated from the relationq = (Ta –To) / ∑ n (i=1) Pi Zjwhere Pi is the thermal resistivity of the jth layer of thickness Zi and n the number of layers. The procedure also allow corrections for the influence of thermal conductivity variations oi the wall rocks.This method was used for the determination of heat flow density values for thirteen sites in the northeastern part of the Paraná basin. The mean value obtained is 62±4 mW/m2 in good agreement with the mean of 59±9 mW/m2 obtained by the conventional method for thirteen sites in the Paraná basin. Though similar in principle to the bottom-hole temperature method used in oil wells, the present technique has some inherent advantages. lt is potentially capable of providing a wider geographic representation of heat flow density (being not limited to petroleum fields) and is relatively free of the sampling problems normally encountered in working with oil companies. 0n the other hand the present method may provide unreliable values in the case of wells drawing water from more than one aquifer. RESUMO. Apresenta-se neste trabalho, um método simples para a determinação do fluxo geotérmico em poços em atividade de bombeamento de água subterrânea. O método requer a determinação em laboratório da resistência térmica total das camadas atravessadas pelo poço mas, o trabalho de campo é simples, limitando-se à medida da temperatura da água na boca do poço durante ensaios de bombeamento.A temperatura do aquífero (Ta) é calculada a partir da temperatura da água (TW), medida na boca do poço da vazão (M) expressa em massa  de água produzida pelo poço por unidade de tempo e, da profundidade do topo do aquífero (H) usando-se a relação(Tw – To) / (Ta – To) = M'R [1 – exp(–1/M'R)]onde TO é a temperatura média anual da superfície, R é um parâmetro adimensional de difusão, M' = M C/K H é a vazão adimensional do poço, C é o calor específico da água e, K é a condutividade térmica da rocha atravessada pelo poço. O fluxo geotérmico (q) é calculado pela relaçãoq = (Ta –To) / ∑ n (i=1) Pi Zjonde Pi é a resistência térmica da i-ésima camada de espessura Zi e, n é o número de camadas.O método permite também a introdução de correções da influência das variações de condutividade térmica das paredes do poço.Este método foi utilizado na determinação do fluxo geotérmico em treze localidades no nordeste da Bacia do Paraná. O valor médio obtido foi de 62±4 mW /m2 concordando com o valor médio de 59±9 mW/m2 obtido pelo método convencional de determinação de fluxo geotérmico em treze localidades da Bacia do Paraná. Apesar de ser um método similar ao das temperaturas de fundo de poço usado em poços de petróleo, esta técnica apresenta algumas vantagens. O método é potencialmente capaz de fornecer uma representação geográfica mais ampla do fluxo geotérmico, não estando limitado a campos de produção de petróleo, e é relativamente livre de problemas de amostragem normalmente encontrados quando se trabalha com companhias de petróleo. Por outro lado, este método pode fornecer valores irreais de fluxo geotérmico no caso em que o poço extraia água de mais de um aquífero. 

scholarly journals Terrestrial heat flow and geothermal field characteristics in the Bide-Santang basin, western Guizhou, South China

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 1114-1135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Guo ◽  
Yong Qin ◽  
Lingling Lu
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Heat Flow ◽  
South China ◽  
Coalbed Methane ◽  
Geothermal Gradient ◽  
Geothermal Field ◽  
Upper Permian ◽  
Burial Depth ◽  
Terrestrial Heat Flow ◽  
Western Guizhou

Geothermal fields in coal-bearing strata significantly influence coal mining and coalbed methane accumulation and development. Based on temperature data from 135 coalfield exploration boreholes and thermophysical tests of 43 rock and coal samples from the Upper Permian coal-bearing strata of the Bide-Santang basin in western Guizhou, South China, the distribution of terrestrial heat flow and the geothermal gradient in the study area are revealed, and the geological controls are analysed. The results show that the thermal conductivity of the coal-bearing strata ranges from 0.357 to 3.878 W (m K)−1 and averages 1.962 W (m K)−1. Thermal conductivity is controlled by lithology and burial depth. Thermal conductivity progressively increases for the following lithologies: coal, mudstone, siltstone, fine sandstone, and limestone. For the same lithology, the thermal conductivity increases with the burial depth. The present geothermal gradient ranges from 15.5 to 30.3°C km−1 and averages 23.5°C km−1; the terrestrial heat flow ranges from 46.94 to 69.44 mW m−2 and averages 57.55 mW m−2. These values are lower than the averages for South China, indicating the relative tectonic stability of the study area. The spatial distribution of the terrestrial heat flow and geothermal gradient is consistent with the main structural orientation, indicating that the geothermal field distribution is tectonically controlled at the macro-scale. This distribution is also controlled by active groundwater, which reduces the terrestrial heat flow and geotemperature. The high geothermal gradient in the shallow strata (<200 m) is mainly caused by the low thermal conductivity of the unconsolidated sedimentary cover. The gas content of the coal seam is positively correlated with terrestrial heat flow, indicating that inherited palaeogeothermal heat flow from when coalbed methane was generated in large quantities during the Yanshanian period due to intense magmatic activity.

METHOD FOR DETERMINING TERRESTRIAL HEAT FLOW IN OIL FIELDS

Geophysics ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 584-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Humberto Da Silva Carvalho ◽  
Victor Vacquier
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Heat Flow ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Oil Fields ◽  
Inexpensive Method ◽  
Average Heat ◽  
Core Samples ◽  
Bottom Hole ◽  
Terrestrial Heat Flow ◽  
The World

A method of determining terrestrial heat flow in oil fields from bottom‐hole temperatures, electric logs, and thermal conductivity of core samples has been tried in six Reco⁁ncavo Basin oil fields in Brazil. The average heat‐flow value so determined for the Reco⁁ncavo Basin is [Formula: see text]. The technique can be used for calculating heat flow in continental areas elsewhere. A more significant outcome of our experiment is that it demonstrates an inexpensive method of obtaining terrestrial heat‐flow values in the sedimentary basins of the world.

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