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Geothermal Regime Of The Williston Basin In North Dakota, Faye N. Ricker

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the thermal regime of a large intracontinental basin such as the Williston Basin can be enhanced by analysis of the relationships among radiogenic heat production, surface heat flow, formation temperatures, and gravity and magnetic anomaly patterns. Digital processing of the spatial and causal relationships gives insight into the effect of basement heat production on the thermal state of the basement rocks and the overlying sedimentary successions. These relationships provide valuable insight on the radioactive heat contribution to heat flow, heat flow from the lower crust, composition of the upper crust, and the potential for geothermal power generation. The specific …