scholarly journals Entropy-information perspective to radiogenic heat distribution in continental crust

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-428
Author(s):  
R. N. Singh ◽  
A. Manglik
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flow ◽  
Continental Crust ◽  
Heat Generation ◽  
Depth Distribution ◽  
Thermal Structure ◽  
Generation Model ◽  
Heat Sources ◽  
Radiogenic Heat ◽  
Entropy Principle ◽  
Mantle Heat Flow

Abstract. Depth distribution of radiogenic heat sources in continental crust is an important parameter that controls its thermal structure as well as the mantle heat flow at the base of continental lithosphere. Various models for the depth distribution of radiogenic heat sources have been proposed. Starting from constant and exponential models based on linear heat flow–heat generation relationship the present-day layered models integrate crustal structure and laboratory measurements of radiogenic heat sources in various exposed rocks representing crustal composition. In the present work, an extended entropy theory formalism is used for estimation of radiogenic heat sources distribution in continental crust based on principle of maximum entropy (POME). The extended entropy principle yields a constant heat generation model if only a constraint given by total radiogenic heat in the crust is used and an exponential form of radiogenic heat sources distribution if an additional constraint in the form of a second moment is used in the minimization of entropy.

Thermal regime of the lithosphere in the Canadian ShieldThis article is one of a series of papers published in this Special Issue on the theme Lithoprobe — parameters, processes, and the evolution of a continent.

2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Perry ◽  
Carmen Rosieanu ◽  
Jean-Claude Mareschal ◽  
Claude Jaupart
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flow ◽  
Heat Generation ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Surface Heat ◽  
Canadian Shield ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Seismic Velocities ◽  
Flow Measurements ◽  
Surface Heat Flow ◽  
Mantle Heat Flow

Geothermal studies were conducted within the framework of Lithoprobe to systematically document variations of heat flow and surface heat production in the major geological provinces of the Canadian Shield. One of the main conclusions is that in the Shield the variations in surface heat flow are dominated by the crustal heat generation. Horizontal variations in mantle heat flow are too small to be resolved by heat flow measurements. Different methods constrain the mantle heat flow to be in the range of 12–18 mW·m–2. Most of the heat flow anomalies (high and low) are due to variations in crustal composition and structure. The vertical distribution of radioelements is characterized by a differentiation index (DI) that measures the ratio of the surface to the average crustal heat generation in a province. Determination of mantle temperatures requires the knowledge of both the surface heat flow and DI. Mantle temperatures increase with an increase in surface heat flow but decrease with an increase in DI. Stabilization of the crust is achieved by crustal differentiation that results in decreasing temperatures in the lower crust. Present mantle temperatures inferred from xenolith studies and variations in mantle seismic P-wave velocity (Pn) from seismic refraction surveys are consistent with geotherms calculated from heat flow. These results emphasize that deep lithospheric temperatures do not always increase with an increase in the surface heat flow. The dense data coverage that has been achieved in the Canadian Shield allows some discrimination between temperature and composition effects on seismic velocities in the lithospheric mantle.

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 Geoneutrinos

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ondřej Šrámek ◽  
William F. McDonough ◽  
John G. Learned
Keyword(s):  
Continental Crust ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Heat Sources ◽  
Radiogenic Heat ◽  
Interdisciplinary Field ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Directional Detection ◽  
Under Construction ◽  
Current Detection

Neutrino geophysics is an emerging interdisciplinary field with the potential to map the abundances and distribution of radiogenic heat sources in the continental crust and deep Earth. To date, data from two different experiments quantify the amount of Th and U in the Earth and begin to put constraints on radiogenic power in the Earth available for driving mantle convection and plate tectonics. New improved detectors are under construction or in planning stages. Critical testing of compositional models of the Earth requires integrating geoneutrino and geological observations. Such tests will lead to significant constraints on the absolute and relative abundances of U and Th in the continents. High radioactivity in continental crust puts limits on land-based observatories' capacity to resolve mantle models with current detection methods. Multiple-site measurement in oceanic areas away from continental crust and nuclear reactors offers the best potential to extract mantle information. Geophysics would benefit from directional detection and the detectability of electron antineutrinos from potassium decay.

Thermal data collection in and around Japan and its implications for lithospheric rheology and deformation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akiko Tanaka
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flow ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Depth Distribution ◽  
Thermal State ◽  
Thermal Structure ◽  
Geothermal Gradient ◽  
Geological Processes ◽  
Thermal Data ◽  
Lithospheric Thermal Structure ◽  
Geochemical Constraints

<p>Heat flow data contribute to the imaging the lithospheric thermal structure, which greatly influences tectonic and geological processes and constrains the strength of the lithosphere, the modes of deformation, and the depth distribution of earthquakes. To provide more reliable estimation of the lithospheric thermal structure, some complementary approaches are possible. One of approaches is to update and incorporate the existing thermal data. A new version of database “Thermal Data Collection in and around Japan”, which contains continuously updated of heat flow and geothermal gradient data and adds thermal conductivity data in and around Japan, has been released in March 2019 [https://www.gsj.jp/data/G01M/GSJ_MAP_TDCJ_2019.zip]. This provides an opportunity to revisit the thermal state of the lithosphere along with other geophysical/geochemical constraints and on the lithospheric rheology and deformation, which is sensitive to temperature.</p>

Paleogeothermal Gradients across an Inverted Hyperextended Rift System (Mauléon Fossil Rift,Western Pyrenees)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Saspiturry ◽  
Abdeltif Lahfid ◽  
Thierry Baudin ◽  
Laurent Guillou-Frottier ◽  
Philippe Razin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flow ◽  
Thermal Structure ◽  
Ductile Deformation ◽  
Rift System ◽  
Alkaline Magmatism ◽  
Distal Margin ◽  
Geothermal Gradients ◽  
The North ◽  
Mantle Heat Flow ◽  
Paleogeothermal Gradient

<p>Examples of fossil and present-day passive margins resulting from mantle exhumation at the ocean–continent transition appear to have developed under conditions of high mantle heat flow. The pattern of geothermal gradients along these hyperextended margins at the time of rifting is of interest for exploration of geothermal and petroleum resources, but is difficult to access. The fossil rift in the North Pyrenean Zone, which underwent high temperature–low pressure metamorphism and alkaline magmatism during Early Cretaceous hyperextension, was studied to explore the geothermal regime at the time of rifting. Data from a set of 155 samples from densely spaced outcrops and boreholes, analyzed using Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material, shed light on the distribution of geothermal gradients across the inverted hyperextended Mauléon rift basin during Albian and Cenomanian time, its period of active extension. The estimated paleogeothermal gradient is strongly related to the structural position along the Albian-Cenomanian rift, increasing along a proximal-distal margin transect from ~34°C/km in the European proximal margin to ~37–47°C/km in the two necking zones and 57–60°C/km in the hyperextended domain. This pattern of the paleogeothermal gradient induced a complex competition between brittle and ductile deformation during crustal extension. A numerical modeling approach reproducing the thermal evolution of the North Pyrenees since 120 Ma suggests that mantle heat flow values may have peaked up to 100 mW.m-2 during the rifting event. We demonstrate that the style of reactivation during subsequent convergence influences the thermal structure of the inverted rift system.</p>

A heat generation model for continental crust based on deep drilling in the Baltic Shield

1989 ◽  
Vol 159 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 231-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.A. Kremenetsky ◽  
S.Yu. Milanovsky ◽  
L.N. Ovchinnikov
Keyword(s):  
Continental Crust ◽  
Heat Generation ◽  
Baltic Shield ◽  
Generation Model ◽  
Deep Drilling ◽  
The Baltic
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