3.

Continental Heat Flow

Ge 163
4/3/15
 Outline

1.  Measurement of heat flow and

Fourier’s law
2.  Overview of major variations
3.  Sclater Histograms
4.  Heat-flow - heat-production
relationship
5.  Continental geotherm
Fourier’s Law

q = −kT,x
q = heat flux
(units: W m-2
k = thermal conductivity
(units: W m-1 K-1

T temperature
x spatial coordinate
Variations of heat flow on continents

Major geological factors

*‘orogeny’
arc-arc amalgamation
continental collision
*rifting and continental stretching
*amount of radioactive elements in crust
*erosion
*sedimentation
Environmental factors
*Large-scale water circulation
*Past climatic changes
 Smoothed Heat Flow from borehole
measurements

25 65 100 mW/m^2 SMU web site

 Heat flow is generally high and very scattered in
young regions and decays to a value of around
42 mW m-2 in early Proterozoic terrains
[Proterozoic= 2500 - 542 Ma]

Some authors have suggested that in North

America the effect of the last glaciation was to
reduce the near surface temperature gradient
by as much as 20%

Sclater et al. [1980] suggest that the combined

Effect of both slow circulation of water and
glaciation could have a combined effect of 30%.
Sclater, J. G., Jaupart, C., and Galson, D., The heat flow through oceanic
and continental crust and the heat loss of the Earth, Rev. of Geophys.
Space Phys., 18, 269-311, 1980.
Position of heat flow measurements of Sclater et al. [1980] on ages of
continental crust. 1. >1700 Ma; 2. 1700-800 Ma; 3. 800-250 Ma;
4. < 250 Ma
Note on the construction of the histograms:

In order to reduce bias, values which differed

by 10% or less & lay within a radius of 30 km were
averaged
For groups with large deviations, all values
were considered
1. >1700 Ma; 2. 1700-800 Ma; 3. 800-250 Ma; 4. < 250 Ma
Sclater et al. [1980]
 General Conclusions from the Histograms

• Eurasia and N. American values have almost

identical distributions.
• Youngest province mean is high, ~80 mW m-2, and is
associated with large scatter
• For all continents older than 800 Ma, the heat flow
tends to a constant value lying in the range 42-50 mW
m-2. Both the mean and scatter decrease with age;
evidence that the heat flow is approaching an
equilibirum value
• Except for two older provinces outside of Africa,
almost no value below 25 mW m-2. This cut-off is
observed for the younger provinces owing to the
flatness of the distributions
 Heat Flow and Surface Heat Production

A general decrease in depth in the concentration in

U, Th, & K has been noted, although there is high
variability laterally on both a large-scale and small
scale.

Ageneral decrease with depth has been noted in a

series of plutons in Idaho, in a vertical section in the
Alps, and in several deep boreholes
Metamorphic rocks
High grade metamorphic rocks are significantly
Lower in Th & U than their counterparts in lower metamorphic
grades.
Typically lower crustal rocks have low heat production
2.4 x 10-11 to 1.8 x 10-10 W kg-1

This compares to
~9.6 x 10-10 W kg-1 for granite
 Birch, Roy & Decker [1968] showed (empirically) that

qs = qr + das
Where qs is the surface heat flow, qr is the
‘reduced’ heat flow, d is a length scale, and as is
the surface heat production

as units: mW m-3

qs & qr units: mW m-2

In 1970, Lachenbruch showed that this linear qs-as

relation could be satitsfied with an exponentially
decreasing heat production with depth
Sclater et al.[19080]
Maybe heat production decays with depth, let us assume
that it follows an exponential
−z / h r
H = H se
Units: Hs= [W kg-1]
T,t = κT,zz + F F = [H c-1]
T,t = 0 Steady-state

becomes qs H
d 2T −z / h r
0 = k 2 + ρH se
dz H = H se−z / hr

q = −qm
z z →∞
Solution
qs = qm + hr ρH s
qs = qr + hr as
From the eastern US (crystalline rocks)
qm=30 mW m-2
hr=7.5 km

qm = reduced heat flow

Note how hr is significantly less than the 35 km
usual crustal depth
Lachenbruch also showed that the exponential
distribution is self-perserving on uplift and that
the linear qs-as relation is maintained
[This is not the case for linear or constant
distributions]
Potential Scenario for concentration of heat producing elements

Jaupart et al. [1981]

 The steady-state assumption

Thermal time-constant
200-300 Myr
L~(κτ)1/2
L~80-100 km
Sclater et al. [1980]
 Continental geotherm consistent with qs and as-as (decay
of with depth)
Assuming: H = H se−z / hr
Using solution of T,t = κT,zz + F with T,t = 0
qm z ρH h 2
T = Ts + + (1− e−z / hr )
s r
k k
qm z (qs − qm )hr
T = Ts + + (1− e−z / hr )
k k

Ts=10ºC
qs=56.5 mW m-2
qm=30 mW m-2
hr=10 km
k=3.35 W m-1 K-1
Geobarometry and geothermometry from Xenoliths in
Kimberlite pipes
Sclater et al. [1980]
More on geographic variability

Sclater et al. [1980]

 Smoothed Heat Flow from borehole
measurements

25 65 100 mW/m^2 SMU web site