Measurement of geothermal flux through poorly consolidated sediments

Earth and Planetary Science Letters
By: , and 

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Abstract

In many regions, crystalline rocks are covered by hundreds of meters of unconsolidated and poorly consolidated sediments. Estimates of heat flux within these sediments using standard continental techniques (temperature and conductivity measurements at intervals of 10 to 30 meters) are unreliable, mainly because of the difficulty in obtaining and preserving representative lengths of core. However, it is sometimes feasible to use what amounts to an oceanographic technique by making closely spaced temperature and conductivity measurements within short cored intervals. This is demonstrated in a borehole at Menlo Park, California (37°27′N, 122°10′W, elevation 16 meters), where heat flows determined over 12 separate 1-meter intervls al lie within 10% of their mean value; 2.2 μcal/cm2 sec.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Measurement of geothermal flux through poorly consolidated sediments
Series title Earth and Planetary Science Letters
DOI 10.1016/0012-821X(68)90090-3
Volume 4
Issue 4
Year Published 1968
Language English
Publisher Elsevierr
Description 6 p.
First page 293
Last page 298
Country United States
State California
Other Geospatial San Francisco Bay area
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