Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Terrestrial Heat Flow And An Assessment Of Enhanced Geothermal System Resources In Minnesota, Robert Car Lloyd Klenner

Theses and Dissertations

Low heat flow has been previously reported in Minnesota (406 mW m-2) and the Superior Province of the Canadian Shield (42 ± 8 mW m-2). Low heat flow in Minnesota is due to heat flow measurements made in the mafic rocks of the Mid-Continent Rift System (MCRS) and attributed to the lack of correction for post-glacial climate fluctuations. Radioactivity is a critical heat flow component, particularly in Minnesota where all published heat flow sites are located within the MCRS, creating a bias in the data. The rift is a massive mafic intrusive complex that extends from Moho to the surface, …