Heat flow in the Dead Sea from the ICDP boreholes and its implication for the structure of the basin. (15th April 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Oryan, B.; Villinger, H.; Lazar, M.; Schwab, M.J.; Neugebauer, I.; Ben-Avraham, Z.
• Is Part Of: Quaternary science reviews. Volume 210(2019)
• Page Start: 103
• Page End: 112
• Publication Date: 2019-04-15
• Subjects: Heat flow -- Dead sea basin -- International continental drilling program (ICDP) -- Dead sea deep drilling project -- Thermal conductivity -- Sedimentation correction -- Salt diapirs; Geology, Stratigraphic -- Quaternary -- Periodicals; Stratigraphie -- Quaternaire -- Périodiques; 551.79
• DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.02.016
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0277-3791

Abstract

Abstract: Numerical simulations emulating the formation of the Dead Sea Basin (DSB) infer that it could not have been formed as a pull-apart basin with a surface heat flow lower than 50 m W m 2 . However, previous measurements determined values of 32 − 40 m W m 2 . This contradiction is known as the "Dead Sea heat flow paradox". Here we set to re-examine the "paradox" by analyzing heat flow data in boreholes drilled by the ICDP (International Continental Drilling Program) in the northern DSB. The boreholes and the extracted sediment cores offer a unique opportunity to re-measure the heat flow in the DSB and assess the "paradox". Heat flow was determined by obtaining in situ temperature profiles from the boreholes and conducting 469 thermal conductivity measurements on the cores. The newly computed values are in agreement with those previously obtained for the DSB and fall below the threshold of 50 m W m 2 . Different explanations proposed to justify higher heat flow seem to fail leaving the "Dead Sea heat flow paradox" unresolved. Heat flow values and the sedimentation corrections determined in this research are consistent with the Ginzburg and Ben-Avraham subsurface model for the DSB, suggesting deeper sediment filling in the southern part of the basin. Highlights: Heat flow data obtained from the Dead Sea borehole indicate values of ∼ 35 mW m 2 . The calculated heat flow values are similar to previous estimates. The heat flow values obtained here are not consistent with numerical-models predictions. Heat flow values combined with detailed computations of the effect of sedimentation can shed light on basin structure.