Crustal heat flow in Ukraine

• Main Authors: Gordienko, V.V., Gordienko, I.V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Subbotin Institute of Geophysics of the NAS of Ukraine 2025
• Subjects: radiogenic heat generation of crustal rocks of Ukraine; crustal heat flow
• Online Access: https://journals.uran.ua/geofizicheskiy/article/view/311435

Information on the network density of heat flow measurements with the authors’ participation in Ukraine’s territory and beyond is presented. Data of such quality can be effectively used to control the schemes of deep processes in the tectonosphere and the origin of mineral deposits. We provide maps of heat flow distribution and concentration of geothermal resources. Combined geological and geophysical knowledge of Ukraine’s territory allows us to proceed to a more in-depth study of the thermal field. The main objective was to calculate the crustal heat flow due to radiogenic heat generation throughout the country, which has not been done before. We used information on the distribution of P-wave seismic velocities along the DSS (deep seismic study) profiles of about 12,000 km total length. The error in determining the seismic wave velocity was calculated by the velocity difference at the profiles’ intersections or overlaps. On average, the velocity difference is about 0.2 km/s. Accordingly, the error of velocity determination is about 1.4 km/s. Such an error allows us to draw isolines of the crust heat flow through 4 mW/m2. Variants of velocity and heat generation correlation for different crustal rocks are presented. Together with mapping crustal heat flow distribution based on the DSS data, the Moho depth was also plotted considering the error in determining this parameter. Regional crustal heat flow anomalies were identified as being associated with the geological evolution of individual regions. In the platform part of Ukraine, we detected heat generation anomalies related to the anomalies in the upper mantle. The results allow us to proceed with determining the heat flow from the mantle on the territory of Ukraine.