Relationship among terrestrial heat flow, thermal conductivity, and geothermal gradient

1970 ◽  
Vol 75 (11) ◽  
pp. 1985-1991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ki-Iti Horai ◽  
Amos Nur
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Heat Flow ◽  
Geothermal Gradient ◽  
Terrestrial Heat Flow

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.

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.

Inversion of bottom‐hole temperature data: The Pineview field, Utah‐Wyoming thrust belt

Geophysics ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 707-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Deming ◽  
David S. Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Temperature Field ◽  
Heat Flow ◽  
Random Noise ◽  
Synthetic Data ◽  
Element Model ◽  
Geothermal Gradient ◽  
Oil Field ◽  
Conductive Heat ◽  
Bottom Hole

The present day temperature field in a sedimentary basin is a constraint on the maturation of hydro‐carbons; this temperature field may be estimated by inverting corrected bottom‐hole temperature (BHT) data. Thirty‐two BHTs from the Pineview oil field are corrected for drilling disturbances by a Horner plot and inverted for the geothermal gradient in nine formations. Both least‐squares [Formula: see text] norm and uniform [Formula: see text] norm inversions are used; the [Formula: see text] norm is found to be more robust for the Pineview data. The inversion removes random error from the corrected BHT data by partitioning scatter between noise associated with the BHT measurement and correction processes and local variations in the geothermal gradient. Three‐hundred thermal‐conductivity and density measurements on drill cuttings are used, together with formation density logs, to estimate the in situ thermal conductivity of six of the nine formations. The thermal‐conductivity estimates are used in a finite‐element model to evaluate 2-D conductive heat refraction and, for a series of inversions of synthetic data, to assess the influence of systematic and random noise on the inversion results. A temperature‐anomaly map illustrates that a temperature field calculated by a forward application of the inversion results has less error than any single corrected BHT. Mean background heat flow at Pineview is found to be [Formula: see text] (±13 percent), but is locally higher [Formula: see text] due to heat refraction. The BHT inversion (1) is limited by systematic noise or model error, (2) achieves excellent resolution of a temperature field although resolution of individual formation gradients may be poor, and (3) generally cannot detect lateral variations in heat flow unless thermal‐conductivity structure is constrained.

scholarly journals Geothermal Gradient And Heat Flow Maps Of Offshore Malaysia: Some Updates And Observations

2021 ◽  
Vol 71 ◽  
pp. 159-183
Author(s):  
Mazlan Madon ◽  
◽  
John Jong ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Heat Flow ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Geothermal Gradient ◽  
Flow Probe ◽  
Geothermal Gradients ◽  
Heat Flows ◽  
Flow Maps ◽  
Tectonic Settings

An update of the geothermal gradient and heat flow maps for offshore Malaysia based on oil and gas industry data is long overdue. In this article we present an update based on available data and information compiled from PETRONAS and operator archives. More than 600 new datapoints calculated from bottom-hole temperature (BHT) data from oil and gas wells were added to the compilation, along with 165 datapoints from heat flow probe measurements at the seabed in the deep-water areas off Sarawak and Sabah. The heat flow probe surveys also provided direct measurements of seabed sediment thermal conductivity. For the calculation of heat flows from the BHT-based temperature gradients, empirical relationships between sediment thermal conductivity and burial depth were derived from thermal conductivity measurements of core samples in oil/gas wells (in the Malay Basin) and from ODP and IODP drillholes (as analogues for Sarawak and Sabah basins). The results of this study further enhanced our insights into the similarities and differences between the various basins and their relationships to tectonic settings. The Malay Basin has relatively high geothermal gradients (average ~47 °C/km). Higher gradients in the basin centre are attributed to crustal thinning due to extension. The Sarawak Basin has similar above-average geothermal gradients (~45 °C/km), whereas the Baram Delta area and the Sabah Shelf have considerably lower gradients (~29 to ~34 °C/km). These differences are attributed to the underlying tectonic settings; the Sarawak Shelf, like the Malay Basin, is underlain by an extensional terrane, whereas the Sabah Basin and Baram Delta east of the West Baram Line are underlain by a former collisional margin (between Dangerous Grounds rifted terrane and Sabah). The deep-water areas off Sarawak and Sabah (North Luconia and Sabah Platform) show relatively high geothermal gradients overall, averaging 80 °C/km in North Luconia and 87 °C/km in the Sabah Platform. The higher heat flows in the deep-water areas are consistent with the region being underlain by extended continental terrane of the South China Sea margin. From the thermal conductivity models established in this study, the average heat flows are: Malay Basin (92 mW/m2), Sarawak Shelf (95 mW/m2) and Sabah Shelf (79 mW/m2). In addition, the average heat flows for the deep-water areas are as follows: Sabah deep-water fold-thrust belt (66 mW/m2), Sabah Trough (42 mW/m2), Sabah Platform (63 mW/m2) and North Luconia (60 mW/m2).

GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL STUDY FOR ELABORATION OF GEOTHERMAL MODEL IN ORADEA-BAILE FELIX AREA

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurențiu Asimopolos ◽  
Natalia-Silvia Asimopoli
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Heat Flow ◽  
Thermal Gradient ◽  
Thermal Inertia ◽  
Geothermal Gradient ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Thermal Methods ◽  
Thermal Anomalies ◽  
Average Value

Thermal methods consist of measuring thermal gradient and satellite data, which can be used to determine the Earth's surface temperature and thermal inertia of surficial materials, of thermal infrared radiation emitted at the Earth's surface. Thermal gradient measuring, with a knowledge of the thermal conductivity provides a measure of heat flow. Conditions that may increase or decrease and heat flow are influenced by hydrologic, topographic factors and anomalous thermal conductivity. Also, oxidation of sulphide bodies in-place or on waste deposits, if sufficiently rapid, can generate thermal anomalies, which can provide a measure of the amount of metal being released to the environment. The geothermal gradient on the territory of Romania, the increase of the temperature with the depth, has an average value of 2.5°-3°C/100m, which corresponds to a temperature of 100° C at 3000 m deep. There are many areas where the value of the geothermal gradient differs considerably from this average. For example, in areas where the rock plate suffered rapid dips and the basin was filled with sediment "very young "from a geological point of view, the geothermal gradient may be less than 1° C/100m. On the other hand, in other geothermal areas the gradient exceeds much this average. These areas are true underground thermal reservoirs of potentially high geothermal energy which under certain favourable conditions can be exploited to serve heating installations and domestic hot water systems. The geothermal prospecting for the entire territory of Romania, carried out by temperature measurements allowed the development of geothermal maps, highlighting the temperature distribution at different depths. Geophysical data obtained through various methods and geophysical modelling provide generalized and non-unique solutions to the geometry of underground geological relations as well as to the physical characteristics of different formations. The non-uniqueness of these models (solutions to the direct problem) arises from the impossibility of knowing the boundary conditions between different strata, which together with the propagation equations of the different fields (depending on the geophysical method used for the investigation of the basement) form the systems that offer the solutions of the model

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