Geothermal field and distribution for earthquake source depths in the Baikal Rift Zone

A comparison between values of thermal flux and the deep temperatures calculated by them and the depths of earthquake sources in three areas of the Baikal Rift Zone is made. It has been shown that during transit from the Baikal depression to the adjacent mountain massif, the thermal flux decreases almost 2–3 times. The corresponding deep temperatures decrease to a similar degree. The available data for these areas on earthquake depths show that their lower boundary both beneath the depression and the massif is located at almost the same depth, which is about 20 km. In this paper, the conclusion is made that the cause of the absence of an interrelation between thermal and seismic fields lies in the discrepancy between the measured values of thermal flux and its deep values. This discrepancy arises because conductive heat transfer in the upper part of the Earth’s crust, up to 5–10 km depth, is highly distorted by heat-and-mass transfer of ground waters. In the middle part of the crust, the difference in temperatures beneath depressions and ridges is leveled horizontally, which is reflected in almost the same depth for the basement of the seismogenerating layer beneath these main rift structures.