Terrestrial Heat Flow Data Terrestrial Heat Flow Data Set for Mainland China

This dataset is a land heat flow dataset for mainland China, including heat flow data from 1,230 observation points in mainland China, which cover the main tectonic units of China. These data reveal that the heat flow values in mainland China range from 30 to 140 mW/m², and the average background heat flow is about 60.4 ± 12.3 mW/m², excluding local anomalies related to hydrothermal activity.

When analyzing these data, the researchers found that the heat flow map of the Chinese mainland shows four obvious heat flow provinces: the high heat flow province in the east, where the heat flow is mainly caused by the mantle; the high heat flow province in the southwest, where the heat flow is mainly caused by the crust; the normal heat flow province in the central part; and the low heat flow province in the northwest. These major heat flow provinces correspond to Cenozoic lithospheric-scale tectonic units and reveal a good correlation between heat flow and crustal thickness and elevation, which is consistent with the thermal isostatic theory.

Further studies have shown that the current heat flow-tectonic pattern of the Chinese mainland was shaped by the geodynamic processes of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic, especially the collision of the Indian-Eurasian plates and the subduction of the western Pacific plate in the Mesozoic-Cenozoic. These plate tectonic activities have had a significant impact on the heat flow distribution of the Chinese mainland.