Surface heat flow, crustal temperatures and mantle heat flow in the Proterozoic Trans‐Hudson Orogen, Canadian Shield

Abstract

The Paleo‐Proterozoic (1.8 Ga) Trans‐Hudson Orogen (THO), of intermediate age between the Superior (2.7 Ga) and Grenville (1.0 Ga) provinces, is located near the center of the Canadian Shield. We report on new measurements of heat flow and radiogenic heat production in 30 boreholes at 17 locations in this province. With these data, reliable values of heat flow and heat production are available at 45 sites in the THO. The mean and standard deviation of heat flow values are 42 ± 9 mW m−2. In this province, distinctive geological domains are associated with specific heat flow distributions. The heat flow pattern follows the surface geology with a central area of low values over an ancient back arc basin (Kisseynew) and an ancient island arc (Lynn Lake Belt) made of depleted juvenile rocks. Higher heat flow values found in peripheral belts are associated with recycled Archean crust. Within the Canadian Shield, there is no significant variation in heat flow as a function of age between provinces spanning about 2 Gyr. There is no geographic trend in heat flow across the Canadian Shield from the THO to the Labrador Sea. Low heat flow areas where the crustal structure is well‐known are used to determine an upper bound of 16 mW m−2 for the mantle heat flow. Present and paleogeotherms are calculated for a high heat flow area in the Thompson metasedimentary belt. The condition that melting temperatures were not reached in Proterozoic times yields a lower bound of 11–12 mW m−2 for the mantle heat flow.