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Thermal tracking of upper crustal fluid flow in the Rhine graben
Author(s) -
Pribnow Daniel,
Schellschmidt Rüdiger
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2000gl008494
Subject(s) - geology , graben , borehole , geothermal gradient , crust , petrology , temperature gradient , convection , thermal , drilling , geophysics , fluid dynamics , geomorphology , seismology , structural basin , mechanics , geotechnical engineering , meteorology , mechanical engineering , engineering , physics
More than 52,000 temperature values from almost 10,000 boreholes in Germany have been incorporated into a data base since 1977. Due to petroleum‐oriented drilling, a large quantitity of temperature data (both German and French) is available for the Rhine Graben. A horizontal temperature contour map for 800 m depth and a vertical cross section support the concept that thermal anomalies in the Rhine Graben are caused by convection in the upper crust. At the local scale of a borehole, large changes of the temperature gradient to depths of 5 km can roughly be related to different hydraulic conditions of the formations. A better means to qualitatively characterize the convective regime, however, is the observed thermal equilibration in a well after drilling disturbances. The data base is well suitable for an application of temperature as a tracer for fluid flow.