The hot southern continent: Heat flow and heat production in Australian Proterozoic terranes

Abstract

Available surface heat-flow measurements from Australian Proterozoic terranes (83 ± 18 mWm-2) are significantly higher than the global Proterozoic average of -50 mWm-2. Seismic evidence for the presence of relatively cool mantle together with the lack of evidence for neotectonlc processes normally associated with thermal transients suggests that anomalous heat flow must reflect crustal radiogenic sources (U,Th and K).This is supported by a compilation of more than 6000 analyses from 455 individual granites, granitic gneisses and felslc volcanlcs which shows that the present-day average heat production of these rock types is 4.6 μWm -3 when normalised by area of outcrop (over more than 100 00..