Heat flow from the Liberian precambrian shield
Uncorrected heat flow in iron formation rocks from three areas within the Liberian part of the West African Shield ranges from 50 to more than 80 mW m/sup -2/. When corrections are applied for topography and refraction, the range of heat flow is narrowed to between 38 and 42 mW m/sup -2/. In comparison with heat flows from other parts of the West African Craton, these values are consistent with preliminary results from Ghana (42 +- 8 mW m/sup -2/) and Nigeria (38 +- 2 mW /sup -2/) but are somewhat higher than values from Niger (20 mW m/sup -2/) and neighboring Sierra Leone (26 mW m/sup -2/). The Liberian values are significantly lower than the heat flow offshore in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean (58 +- 8 mW m/sup -2/), suggesting large lateral temperature gradients within the lithosphere near the coast. Values of heat production from outcrops of crystalline basement rocks near the holes are between 2 and 2.3 ..mu..W m/sup -3/. A heat-flow/heat-production relation cannot be established because of the small range of values; however, assuming a 'characteristic depth' of 8 km (similar to the North American Craton) the reduced heat flow of from 20 to 25 mW m/sup -2/ is consistent with that from other Precambrian shields.
- Research Organization:
- U. S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California 94025
- OSTI ID:
- 5040489
- Journal Information:
- J. Geophys. Res.; (United States), Vol. 85:B6
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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