THE MEASUREMENT AND INTERPRETATION OF HEAT FLOW IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEA.
Abstract
The average of 33 heat flow measurements in the eastern Mediterranean Sea is 0.74 plus or minus 0.30 HFU. No correlation was observed between heat flow and other geophysical data. The mean of 12 measurements in the Mediterranean west of Sardinia and Corsica is 1.83 plus or minus 0.55 HFU. Heat flow values ranging from 1.35 to 3.15 HFU are distributed throughout the western Mediterranean basin without any apparent pattern. The average of 12 heat flow values in the Tyrrhenian Sea is 2.83 plus or minus 1.07 HFU. Uniformly high heat flow (3.38 plus or minus 0.16 HFU) exists in the southeastern Tyrrhenian basin. The average of 19 heat flow values in the Black Sea is 0.84 plus or minus 0.32 HFU. The equilibrium heat flow through the floor of the Black Sea, corrected for the effects of both sedimentation and refraction, is estimated as 2.7 HFU. Environmental corrections to the heat flow values measured in the Mediterranean are smaller. The average equilibrium heat flow through the eastern and western Mediterranean Seas is estimated to be 0.9 and 2.9 HFU, respectively. The anomalous high and low heat flux in the western and eastern Mediterranean may be interpreted in terms of plate tectonics. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1970
- Accession Number
- AD0709070
Entities
People
- Albert J. Erickson
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology