Surface heat flow and igneous intrusion in the Cambay Basin, India

Heat flow values from some additional locations in the Cenozoic Cambay Basin have been determined. Together with the previously published data, they show that the heat flow is moderate (55–67 mW/m′) in the southern part of the basin towards Broach and Ankleswar, and that there is a clear trend of high heat flow (75–93 mW/m²; range of average values for six different, widely separated, locations) in a part of the basin located north of the Mahisagan river between Cambay and Mehsana along a stretch of about 140 km. Conductive steady state geotherms, calculated using observed high surface heat flow values and appropriate models show, beneath the Cambay-Mehsana area, a large degree of melting in the lower crust and upper mantle, which is not suggested by the existing geodata. Considering this aspect and taking into account the existence of a normal crust about 37 km thick below the Cambay-Tarapur and Ahmedabad-Mehsana blocks (as obtained from deep seismic soundings), it has been inferred that the heat flow anomaly is due to transient thermal perturbations introduced from tectonic activity in the form of magmatic intrusions. A careful analysis of heat flow, gravity and other related geodata point out and support the possibility of a Miocene/Pliocene basic intrusive body at a depth of around 10 km under the Cambay-Mehsana area. Further, the consistent trend of the thermal and gravity fields indicates thinning of the postulated intrusive body from Cambay towards Mehsana.     

Deccan Trap and the geologic framework of the Cambay basin

The subsurface information gathered during exploration for oil and gas in the Cambay basin shows it as a deep graben with 5 km or more of Tertiary and Quaternary sediments resting on the Deccan Trap floor. The Trap floor of this graben extends from Lat. 24° N to about Lat. 19° N and possibly further south. The basin is divisible into separate morphotectonic blocks as a result of block differentiation in the Trap basement, reflected in the structural attitudes of the overlying sediments. This differentiation is believed to have originated in the Paleocene. The dominant structural grain of the area to south of the Narmada river is ENE-WSW with block faulting in the Traps along the older Satpura trend. North of the Narmada river, the trend is longitudinal upto the Meshwa river while further north the trends veer to a NNW-SSE alignment. These latter trends, in the greater part of the Cambay basin, were impressed early during its subsidence and are the result of reactivation along the old Dharwarian trends in post-Delhi times. Maximum thickness of the Traps penetrated so far is near Mechsana and Cambay where more than 1000 meters thickness has been drilled through. The drilling and gravity-magnetic evidence shows the thickness of Deccan Traps in this trough to be of the order of 2.5 km and points to the possibility of active subsidence of Cambay basin, concomitant with the outpouring of the basaltic lavas. The age of the Traps in the Cambay basin, as evidenced by the available data, is Upper Crealaceous. The influence of the structural grain of the basaltic floor on the overlying sedimentary sequence is evidenced during all the stages in the evolution of the Cambay Tertiary basin. Conglomerates, wackes and reddish brown clays of exclusive Trap derivation predominate in the sedimentary section in the initial stage of the basin evolution during Paleocene. General absence of well developed terrigenous reservoirs on a regional scale in the Paleogene section is due to predominance of Trap terrain as the provenance of clastic detritus, contributing essentially argillaceous matter.     

Study of the Deccan Traps of Cambay Basin by geophysical methods

In the attempt to study the buried Deccan Trap layers in the Cambay Basin, the ground magnetic surveys have not been very useful as the data combine the effect due to the crystalline basement and the Trap thickness. In some parts of the basin, some reflections in the seismograms obtained in the course of seismic surveys, could be correlated to the Trap surface. These can be tied with wells drilled in the basin upto the Traps. The synthesis of the gravity and seismic data has enabled us to prepare a map of the Trap surface in the Cambay basin. The depth of the Trap surlace increases from about 2000 m in the northern part of the basin to about 600 m in its deepest part near Broach. The Trap surface rises gradually south of Narbada in an average direction of SE with depths running from 2500 m to 500 m. The interpretation of the gravity anomalies, assuming their cause to be the variations in the thickness of the Trap, has enabled the determination of the average thickness of the Traps in the basin. The maximum thickness of the Trap is in the central part of the basin and is estimated to be about 2.4 km. The Traps appear to gradually taper towards the flanks of the basin.     

A geothermal study of the Jharia Gondwana basin (India): Heat flow results from several holes and heat production of basement rocks

Temperatures have been measured in nine boreholes (ranging from 400 to 900 m in depth) in the Jharia Gondwana sedimentary basin of the Indian shield. About two hundred thermal conductivity determinations have been made on core samples from these holes. Temperature profiles, Bullard plots and heat flow profiles of these holes indicate different types of disturbances in the shallow geothermal regime, attributable principally to groundwater movement. Heat flow in the region of the “anticlinal high” is about 0.4 HFU higher than the heat flow in the main synclinal region of the basin. The possible sources for this variation are regional groundwater movement and upwelling of thermal waters through a deep-seated fault/fracture system. The heat flow of 1.9 HFU characterizing the main synclinal region, taken as the regional value for the basin as a whole, has been related to the heat generation of the Precambrian basement rocks. A plot of heat flow vs. heat generation falls in line with three plots for the Precambrian complexes of the Indian shield, indicating the absence of a thermal anomaly due to deeper crustal conditions underneath this basin.     

Radioactive heat generation and heat flow in the Indian shield

Using a laboratory gamma-ray spectrometer, 160 rock samples from different heat flow sites in India have been analysed for their U, Th and K contents. Heat generation has been estimated for the significant rock types. Of the six regions covered by this study, correction due to heat generation contrast and geologic structure was found necessary and has been applied in two regions. Heat flow/heat generation plots for two regions in the southernmost part of the shield follow the line characteristic of a normal continental heat flow province. The plots for the other four regions indicate a heat flow province with an intercept of 0.92 HFU and a slope of 14.8 km. From data available at present, these parameters are higher compared to those from the other shields. The higher parameters imply a higher temperature and heat flow at the Moho, indicating a region of “hotter” upper mantle in the Indian shield.     

Heat flow map of the European part of the U.S.S.R.

A heat flow isoline map is presented. Low and relatively constant heat flow has been observed in the old shield areas of the East European Platform (25–40 mW/m²). Increased heat flow (>50 mW/m²) has been found in the Dniepr-Donetz depression. The area south of the East European Platform is characterized by highly variable heat flow (55–100 mW/m²). Some geophysical implications are discussed.     

Geothermal gradients and heat flow in the Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin,Arctic Canada

Thermal gradients have been calculated and heat flow estimates made for 34 petroleum exploration wells along four regional profiles crossing the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin of northern Canada. The geothermal gradients vary from 22 mKm^–1 to 44 mKm^–1. Four sets of possible thermal conductivity values were used to calculate a range of heat flow values for each well. Generally low heat flow is observed in wells within the deeper portions of the basin and higher heat flow values occur in wells along the Aklavik Arch Complex which forms the southeastern margin of the basin.The contribution to heat flow by heat generation below the Mesozoic-Cenozoic basin fill sediments has been considered. The heat flow contribution from sub-Mesozoic sedimentary strata and underlying basement is highest along the basin-bounding Aklavik Arch Complex. The decrease in heat flow from below the basin fill sediments toward the basin depocenter may be related to basinward crustal thinning and corresponding reductions in intra-crustal radiogenic heat production.     

Bundelkhand mafic dykes, Central Indian Shield: Implications for the role of sediment subduction in Proterozoic crustal evolution

Abstract The Archean to Paleo–Proterozoic Bundelkhand massif basement of the central Indian shield has been dissected by numerous mafic dykes of Proterozoic age. These dykes are low‐Ti tholeiites, ranging in composition from subalkaline basalt through basaltic‐andesite to dacite. They are enriched in light rare earth elements (LREE), large ion lithophile elements (LILE) and depleted in high field strength elements (HFSE: Nb, P and Ti). Negative Sr anomaly is conspicuous. Nb/La ratios of the dykes are much lower compared with the primitive mantle, not much different from the average crustal values, but quite similar to those of continental and subduction related basaltic rocks. Bulk contamination of the mantle derived magma by crustal material is inadequate to explain the observed geochemical characteristics; instead contamination of the mantle/lithospheric source(s) via subduction of sediment is a better proposition. Thus, in addition to generating juvenile crust along the former island arcs, subduction processes appear to have influence on the development of enriched mantle/lithospheric source(s). The Bundelkhand massif basement is inferred to represent subduction related juvenile crust, that experienced lithospheric extension and rifting possibly in response to mantle plume activities. The latter probably supplied the required heat, material (fluids) and extensional environment to trigger melting in the refractory lithospheric source(s) and emplacement of the mafic dykes. Proterozoic mafic magmatic rocks from Bundelkhand, Aravalli, Singhbhum and Bastar regions of the Indian shield and those from the Garhwal region of the Lesser Himalaya display remarkably similar enriched incompatible trace elements characteristics, although limited chemical variations are observed in all these rocks. This may indicate the existence of a large magmatic province, different parts of which might have experienced similar petrogenetic processes and were probably derived from mantle/lithospheric source(s) with similar trace element characteristics. The minor, less enriched to depleted components of the Jharol Group of the Aravalli terrane and those from the Singhbhum terrane may represent protracted phases of rifting, that probably caused thinning and mobilization of the lithosphere, facilitating the eruption/emplacement of the asthenospheric melts (with N‐ to T‐types mid‐oceanic ridge basalts signatures) and deposition of deep water facies sediments in the younger developing oceanic basins. In contrast, Bundelkhand region did not experience such protracted rifting, although dyke swarms were emplaced and shallow water Bijawar Group and Vindhyan Supergroup sediments were deposited in continental rift basins. All these discrete Proterozoic terranes appear to have experienced similar petrogenetic processes, tectonomagmatic and possibly temporal evolution involving subduction processes, influencing the lithospheric source characteristics, followed by probably mantle plume induced ensialic rifting through to the development of oceanic basins in the Indian shield regions and their extension in the Lesser Himalaya.     

四川盆地钻孔温度测量及现今地热特征

基于四川盆地9口钻孔的稳态测温资料和297块岩石样品的热导率数据,报道了9个高质量的大地热流数据,提出了沉积地层岩石热导率系列柱.结合前人的数据资料,绘制了地温梯度和大地热流等值线图.四川盆地沉积地层的岩石热导率变化主要由岩性控制,与现今埋藏深度没有明显的相关性.盆地的地温梯度为17.7～33.3℃/km,平均值为22...     

Electrical signatures due to thermal anomalies along mobile belts reactivated by the trail and outburst of mantle plume: Evidences from the Indian subcontinent

In this study the geodynamical scenario along with concepts of mantle plume and mobile belts is utilized to show that most of the existing and potential high thermal regions fall along the (mobile arms affected by the outburst and) traces of mantle plumes. Effects of channeling and partitioning of thermomagmatic flux (TMF) due to these mantle plumes along the mobile belts, particularly near the triple junctions, can be seen in the form of high heat flow and presence of hot springs. Triple junctions manifest over the Indian lithosphere are: Kutch-Cambay, Narmada Son-Godavari, Tapi-Mahanadi, Tapi-Damodar, Pondicherry region, Gulf of Mannar and SW corner of the subcontinent (off-shore), etc. Apart from mobile belts, the deltaic regions of Krishna, Godavari, Ganga, Cauvery, Narmada-Tapi and Indus, etc., are also posses higher level of thermal anomalies as these regions seem to have been substantially influenced by outbursts and traces of Reunion, Kerguelen, Marion and Crozet hotspots. This is reflected from the correlation between plume affected mobile belts and high heat flow regions, large number of hot springs, anomalous electrical conductivity and also deformation or seismicity. Such correlation can be seen along Cambay, west coast trend, Narmada-Son lineament zone, Godavari-Damodar grabens and Bengal basin. Himalayan belt being ongoing collision zone, thermal anomalies are identified in the form of hot springs along the Himalayan arc. At some locations, which might be junction of tectonic trends, there exist significantly large thermal outputs. Puga in Himalayan region is one such example, as seen from high heat flow (max. 468 mW m^− 2) and geothermal gradient (234 °C/km max.). Similarly, Tatapani in Narmada Son Lineament (NSL) region is another such example. The present study discusses the correlation between thermal reservoirs identified by magnetotelluric (MT) study results and plume activity and suggests the need for systematic and detailed MT investigations along plume activated mobile strips in other regions to search for geodynamical history and geothermal resources.     

Late amagmatic extension along the central and eastern segments of the West Philippine Basin fossil spreading axis

The spreading processes within the West Philippine Basin (WPB) remain partly unknown. This study presents an analysis of the tectono-magmatic processes that happened along its spreading axis during the conclusion of the last spreading phase at 33/30 Ma. We demonstrate that the late episode of N-S opening from an E-W-trending spreading system has been followed by a late tectonic event occurring in the central and eastern parts of the basin. This event was responsible for transtensional strain accommodated along the NW-SE faults cutting through the former E-W rift valley in the central part of the basin. In its eastern part, the same event occurred at a larger extent and led to the creation of a new NW-SE axis, obliquely cutting the older E-W spreading segments and their associated spreading fabrics. At this location, several tens of kilometers of slightly oblique amagmatic extension occurred following a ∼60° direction. We propose that this late event is associated with the onset of E-W opening of the Parece-Vela Basin located along the eastern border of the WPB at 30 Ma. Extensive stresses within this basin were probably transmitted to the hot and easily deformable rift zone of the WPB. The newly-created NW-SE axis most likely propagated from east to west, being responsible for scissors opening within the WPB. NE-SW extension ceased when well-organized spreading started at 26 Ma in Parece-Vela Basin, accommodating entirely the global extensive stress pattern.     

松辽盆地大地热流

本文以65个井温数据、并从中测试了10个大地热流值为基础,阐述了松辽盆地的地温场为中部高边部低,并呈环状分布的高地温场特征;进一步阐述了盆地的地壳热结构,分区估算了盆地下面沉积岩层、花岗岩质层和玄武岩质层各层底部的温度和热流值;分析了盆地的地温场高的主要因素以及地温场与岩石圈、重磁力场的关系     

Terrestrial heat flow and geothermal gradients in relation to hydrodynamics in the Alberta basin, Canada

Geothermal gradients in the Alberta part of the Western Canadian sedimentary basin have been studied on the basis of 55,244 bottom-hole temperature values from 28,260 petroleum exploration wells. Gradient estimates for different depth and stratigraphic intervals together with a study of the heat conductivity distribution indicate both regional heat flow variations and variations with depth. The regional hydrodynamics of the basin strongl influences both grad ifT gradient and heat flow increase with depth in water recharge areas to the west and decrease with depth in discharge areas to the north and east. The results indicate that heat flow in the central part of the basin should be approximately equal to the deep crustal heat flow.     

漳州热田的对流热流和传导热流的研究

漳州地热系统属对流型地热系统.漳州热田是我国东南沿海地区目前所见热田中温度最高（121.5℃）的一个.地表热流值的研究表明,热田中心具有最大的实测热流值（359mw/m²）.本文根据热田内152个钻孔的测温资料和56块岩石样品的热导率数据,采用三种不同方法计算出漳州热田及其邻近地区的大地热流值,并讨论了热流值分布的特点.     

邯郸、汤阴断陷地质结构及其活动性

根据人工地震及部分钻井资料研究,邯郸、汤阴断陷是太行山南段东麓的北北东向箕状断陷,邯郸断陷形成于早第三纪,主要受其东缘的邯东铲式正断裂控制。汤阴断陷形成于第三纪,其北部主要受东缘的汤东铲式正断裂控制,南部受东、西边缘的汤东、汤西铲式正断裂控制。两个断陷均为浅源震区,近几年来时有小震出现。邯东断裂没有明显的新活动,地震活动也较微弱,而汤阴断陷的汤东、汤西断裂,新活动明显,推测南部地震活动水平较高,是更应注意的地段     

Geochemistry, geothermics and relationship to active tectonics of Gujarat and Rajasthan thermal discharges, India

Most thermal spring discharges of Rajasthan and Gujarat in northwestern India have been sampled and analysed for major and trace elements in both the liquid and associated gas phase, and for ¹⁸O/¹⁶O, D/H (in water), ³He/⁴He and ¹³C/¹²C in CO₂ (in gas) isotopic ratios. Most thermal springs in Rajasthan are tightly associated to the several regional NE–SW strike-slip faults bordering NE–SW ridges formed by Archaean rocks at the contact with Quaternary alluvial and aeolian sedimentary deposits of the Rajasthan desert. Their Ca–HCO₃ immature character and isotopic composition reveals: (1) meteoric origin, (2) relatively shallow circulation inside the crystalline Archaean formations, (3) very fast rise along faults, and (4) deep storage temperatures of the same order of magnitude as discharging temperatures (50–90°C). Thermal spring discharges in Gujarat are spread over a larger area than in Rajasthan and are associated both with the NNW–SSE fault systems bordering the Cambay basin and the ENE–WSW strike-slip fault systems in the Saurashtra province, west of the Cambay basin. Chemical and isotopic compositions of springs in both areas suggest a meteoric origin of deep thermal waters. They mix with fresh or fossil seawater entering the thermal paths of the spring systems through both the fault systems bordering the Cambay basin, as well as faults and fractures occurring inside the permeable Deccan Basalt Trap in the Saurashtra province. The associated gas phase, at all sampled sites, shows similar features: (1) it is dominated by the presence of atmospheric components (N₂ and Ar), (2) it has high crustal ⁴He enrichment, (3) it shows crustal ³He/⁴He signature, (4) it has low CO₂ concentration, and (5) the only analysed sample for ¹³C/¹²C isotopic ratio in CO₂ suggests that CO₂ has a strong, isotopically light organic imprint. All these features and chemical geothermometer estimates of spring waters suggest that any active deep hydrothermal system at the base of the Cambay basin (about 2000–3000 m) has low-to-medium enthalpy characteristics, with maximum deep temperature in the storage zone of about 150°C. In a regional overview, both thermal emergences of Rajasthan and Gujarat could be controlled by the counter-clockwise rotation of India.     

Specific features of the genesis of the Azores-Gibraltar fault zone (North Atlantic)

Maps of the main structures and the degree of geothermal studies of the Azores-Gibraltar and Iceland regions are constructed. Computer modeling of the coefficient of velocity of thermal subsidence into the asthenosphere of the Azores segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is performed. According to the results of modeling, this velocity exceeds the mean velocity of thermal subsidence of the mid-ocean ridges of the world ocean by a factor of ∼ 1.5. The high velocity of subsidence of the Azores segment of the ridge is caused by the influence of the hot substance of the plume on the process of subsidence. The distributions of the heat flow in the Horseshoe basin, Alboran Sea, and southern part of the Iberian Peninsula are analyzed. A zone of increased heat flow and seismicity, extending from the Madeira-Torre Ridge through the Horseshoe basin, and farther to the east through the southern parts of Spain and France, is identified for the first time. The identified geothermal zone marks the northern branch of the diffuse boundary between the Eurasian and African plates. In the region of the Alpine chain, this zone joins the southern boundary between the Eurasian and African plates, which runs along the northern part of Africa and the Apennine Peninsula. The European and African plate boundaries outline the identified Western-Mediterranean plate, which mainly consists of the oceanic and thinned continental lithospheres of the Algerian-Provence and Tyrrhenian basins.     

Numerical and functional representations of regional heat flow in South America

A summary of heat flow data acquired over recent years in several areas in the eastern (Brazil and Paraguay) and western (Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador) parts of South American continent are presented. The improvements in the database have allowed numerical representations of heat flow for southeastern and central segments of the Precambrian fold belts in Brazil, Central Andean cordilleras in Chile and Bolivia, Southern Volcanic arc in Peru, Neuquén Province in southwestern Argentina, Chaco basin in Paraguay, Oriente basin in Ecuador and the system of pericratonic basins in north central Colombia. The maps reveal considerable variability in heat flow, not only between the main tectonic units but also within them. The intra-regional variations seem to originate mainly from complexities in local geologic structures while the inter-regional ones seem to point to action of deep-seated tectonic processes. The cordilleran regions are, in general, characterized by relatively high heat flow (>70 mW/m²), compared with the coastal regions to the west and the Pre-cordilleran basins to the east. In the eastern part of the continent, heat flow is low to normal (<60 mW/m²), the exceptions being the Mesozoic rift basins, areas of Cenozoic alkaline intrusions and some isolated belts of overthrust tectonics in the central parts of Brazil. There are indications that heat flow is high in the Patagonian Platform relative to that found in the Brazilian Platform.In addition, polynomial methods were employed for examining large-scale variations of heat flow over the continent. Specifically, a general-purpose least square solution was used to determine the coefficients of up to fourth order in latitude and longitude. Some of the large-scale trends seen in low order polynomial representations seem to be indicative of the nature of deep-seated heat transfer processes. The systematic increase in regional heat flow in the north-south direction is an example. It is considered as the consequence of thermal blanketing effect of the continental segment of the South American lithosphere. Trends seen in higher order polynomials seem to be associated with regional tectonic patterns and subduction-related magmatism. Prominent among these are east-west trending belts of low heat flow in northern Peru and in central Chile, as well as the high heat flow belts in northern Chile, Altiplano of Bolivia and northwestern Argentina. Limitations arising from low data density and uneven geographic distribution warrant higher degree polynomial representations.     

珠江口盆地大地热流特征及其与热岩石圈厚度的关系

沉积盆地现今热流特征是岩石圈构造-热演化过程的综合反映和盆地热史恢复的必要约束条件,其总体变化趋势与热岩石圈厚度密切相关.本文根据新收集的珠江口盆地19口钻井温度数据,新增计算了19个大地热流数据,其中12个数据位于深水区（水深大于300 m）,丰富了该盆地深水区钻井地热数据.结合前人研究成果,绘制了该盆地的大地热流图,并分析了其热流分布特征.在此基础上通过求解一维热传导方程,计算得到36口井位处的热岩石圈厚度,量化了盆地大地热流与热岩石圈厚度间的关系.结果显示,珠江口盆地大地热流值介于24.2~121.0 mW·m^-2,平均71.8±13.6 mW·m^-2,新增盆地深水区钻井平均热流值高达84.5±4.4 mW·m^-2.大地热流分布整体上从陆架区到陆坡区升高,而热岩石圈厚度整体分布趋势与大地热流相反.大地热流与热岩石圈厚度间存在良好的指数相关性.     

南海西南次海盆的地热流特征与分析

为系统地了解南海西南次海盆的地热流特征,本文通过对研究区及邻域地热流数据的补充采集、收集整理和统计分析,获得了87个有效的地热流数据、一批热导率和生热率的地热参数资料,地热流测点在空间上覆盖了整个区域.研究区的地热流数据分布结果表明,西南次海盆热流密度的平均值为98.1±14.8 mW·m^-2,洋陆过渡带为103.6±19.4 mW·m^-2,南沙岛礁区和西部陆缘分别为79.0±15.5 mW·m^-2和78.3±15.6 mW·m^-2.研究区表层沉积物热导率的平均值0.86±0.06 W·mK^-1,生热率的平均值1.11±0.17 μW·m^-3,海底温度的平均值为2.43±0.01℃.综合海底地形地貌、地质与地球物理资料,认为研究区的热流特征在空间上具有一定的分布规律,表现为：（1）洋盆区测点的热流密度平均值高于两侧陆缘;（2）东南缘洋陆过渡带上测点的地热流密度值高于邻近海盆和南沙岛礁区的测点,而西北缘这种特征不明显;（3）西北翼的热流密度值总体比东南翼高;（4）沿着古扩张中心方向,西南次海盆热流值具有自东北向西南端方向逐步增大的趋势,表明海盆区同时存在着洋中脊与大陆裂谷两种不同的热状态,西南段裂谷热流值比东北段洋中脊高.对西南次海盆沉积物的热导率和生热率值参数的测量及数据空间分析可见,这两种热参数的空间分布无明显规律性,可能与海盆形成之后复杂的沉积环境相关.根据热流-洋壳年龄之间的关系,在西南次海盆东北段26个测站数据中,发现靠近古扩张中心的数据与理论值呈负偏移,而远离古扩张中心的数据呈正偏移,此现象是海盆内地热流数据受不同类型的地下流体影响所致.