Heat flow and subsurface temperature as evidence for basin-scale ground-water flow, North Slope of Alaska
Geological Society of America Bulletin
By: D. Deming, J. H. Sass, A. H. Lachenbruch, and R. F. De Rito
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Abstract
Several high-resolution temperature logs were made in each of 21 drillholes and a total of 601 thermal conductivity measurements were made on drill cuttings and cores. Near-surface heat flow (??20%) is inversely correlated with elevation and ranges from a low of 27 mW/m2 in the foothills of the Brooks Range in the south, to a high of 90 mW/m2 near the north coast. Subsurface temperatures and thermal gradients estimated from corrected BHTs are similarly much higher on the coastal plain than in the foothills province to the south. Significant east-west variation in heat flow and subsurface temperature is also observed; higher heat flow and temperature coincide with higher basement topography. The observed thermal pattern is consistent with forced convection by a topographically driven ground-water flow system. Average ground-water (Darcy) velocity in the postulated flow system is estimated to be of the order of 0.1 m/yr; the effective basin-scale permeability is estimated to be of the order of 10-14 m2. -from Authors
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Heat flow and subsurface temperature as evidence for basin-scale ground-water flow, North Slope of Alaska |
| Series title | Geological Society of America Bulletin |
| Volume | 104 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Year Published | 1992 |
| Language | English |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Geological Society of America Bulletin |
| First page | 528 |
| Last page | 542 |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |