Update and review of heat flow measurements in México

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to report an update of the surface heat flow database of México. To our knowledge, this work is the first data compilation that integrates existing published and unpublished measurements to create a new heat flow map using a variety of data sources from 108 sites (transient borehole temperatures and temperature-depth profiles). Heat flow measurements in México are still relatively sparse. Updates of heat flow and geological data is required for a better understanding of the thermal regime of México, an accurate characterization of heat flow provinces, and to create a consistent geothermal map.The updated thermal database considers México’s continental and offshore zones. The new heat flow values are mainly located along the Baja California Peninsula and central México. From the new data, we defined the highest and the lowest heat flow values as 1263 mW/m2 and 4 mW/m2, respectively. This updated heat flow database helped us to identify regions with thermal anomalies that show values above average continental heat flow. More importantly, these high heat flow areas do not correspond to the known Mexican geothermal fields.