The Thermal Field and a Thermal Model of the Ural Lithosphere in View of SG-4 Superdeep Drilling

摘要

Specific features of the deep temperature and heat flow distribution in the central and southern Urals and Mugodzhary Mountains are discussed. Various causes responsible for the low heat flow in the uppermost crust of the Urals are analyzed. 2D and 3D numerical geothermal models have been constructed for the area adjacent to the SG-4 Superdeep. Paleotemperatures calculated as a function of the tectonic evolution of the lithosphere in the Ural Foldbelt showed that the structural rearrangement of the lithosphere at the stage of the Ural paleoocean closure and the subsequent Late Paleozoic collision of continental blocks may serve as a possible explanation both of the low heat flow in the uppermost 2-3 km of the crustal section and of the downward increase in the heat flow.