Heat Flow Process in Young Oceanic Crust
The exchange of energy and heat between the oceanic crust and the overlying ocean is crucial for the Earth's internal energy budget. Conductive cooling of recently formed crust at mid-ocean ridges is the dominant process and becomes more apparent as the crust ages. In the case of young oceanic crust, especially less than 10 million years old, another mode of heat transport becomes apparent. These areas are characterized by significant heat loss that cannot be explained by conductive processes alone, leading to hydrothermal circulation as the widely accepted explanation.
A substantial amount of heat is lost through high-temperature hydrothermal circulation directly at the ridge axis, but the majority of the "missing heat" escapes in low-temperature systems along the ridge flanks. Although these diffuse flows are subtle, they play a major role in the global distribution of heat.
Measuring heat flow at the sediment surface allows us to infer how heat moves through the underlying submarine crust, with heat flow serving as a tracer for fluid movement. The detailed processes of diffuse energy loss at the flanks of ridges and the precise locations of heat loss have been insufficiently studied and understood, particularly in the Atlantic Ocean. Key aspects that I would like to explore in more detail include the interaction between the re- and discharge of fluids within the basaltic subsurface, and the controlling influences of crustal permeability, age, topography and sediment coverage on heat flow. Excited by the opportunity to process and analyze my own data, I am focusing on heat flow processes in the North Atlantic, particularly at the southern Reykjanes Ridge.
As part of the World Heat Flow Portal project, I am involved in expanding and developing the global heat flow database technically to provide access to high-quality global heat flow data, concentrating on the marine sector. We aim to strengthen the scientific foundation by publishing historical measurements, and I am excited to contribute new data from upcoming expeditions.
