Thermal regime of the NW shelf of the Gulf of Mexico. 2) Heat Flow

Laurent Husson (1) , Xavier Le Pichon (2) , Pierre Henry (3) , Nicolas Flotte (4) , Claude Rangin (4)

1 GR - Géosciences Rennes
2 Collège de France - Chaire Géodynamique
3 CEREGE - Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement
4 CdF (institution) - Collège de France

We restore the steady state heat flow of the NW shelf of the GoM by removing the transient effects of sedimentation, erosion and compaction. We estimate sedimentation and erosion rates for the NW margin of the GoM from stratigraphic data and vitrinite reflectance data, respectively, and show that they both affect significantly the thermal field. We perform a thermal modeling for 166 wells within the Texan shelf. We conclude that there is a general southeastward increase in the heat flow. This increase also correlates with major tectonic features of the NW shelf of the GoM. We propose that the main zones of extension, of fast recent sedimentation, and crustal thinning are due to geologically recent lithospheric thinning responsible for the higher heat flow.

Keywords: heat flow; Gulf of Mexico; blanketing effect; erosion; lithospheric thinning

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Earth Sciences; Stratigraphy; Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Earth Sciences; Tectonics

Laurent Husson, Xavier Le Pichon, Pierre Henry, Nicolas Flotte, Claude Rangin. Thermal regime of the NW shelf of the Gulf of Mexico. 2) Heat Flow. Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France, 2008, 179 (2), pp.139-146. ⟨insu-00279846⟩