CHAPTER 1

Introduction

1.1 GEOTHERMICS
Geothermics or geothermal research is the study of the thermal state of the interior of the
solid earth and the thermal properties of earth’s materials.
Geothermics is concerned with:
(i)The distribution, generation and the movement of heat within the solid earth.
(ii)The heat-storing, heat-transmitting and phase-change properties of earth’s materials.
(iii)The way in which properties of material react to change in heat or temperature.
(iv)The distribution of temperature in the subsurface as it drives many processes within the
earth.

The origin and development of earth can be studied from the knowledge of temperature
and heat distribution within the earth. As we go inside the earth, temperature increases but
the increase is not uniform both laterally and vertically. Temperature is a key parameter for
any physical and chemical changes. Therefore, it is essential to characterise thermal status of
the sub-surface in any region for various purposes, such as geodynamic modelling, brittle
ductile zone, geothermal energy exploration, oil exploration, ground water exploration,
nuclear waste repository, past climate study etc. The hot springs and geysers are the
expression of the earth’s heat energy on the surface.

1.2 HEAT FLOW

Terrestrial or surface heat flow refers to the conducted component of heat loss at the earth’s
surface. Surface heat flow has been a significant factor in in multitude of geophysical
hypothesis, and it is assured of a prominent place in geophysics as a measurable indicator of
the thermal state of the earth. Thus, surface heat flow or simply heat flow is the continuous
loss of heat from the earth’s interior to the surface, measured per unit area in per unit time. It
is usually expressed in mW/m2.
1.3 Heat Transport in the Earth
Heat can be transported by three processes: conduction, convection and radiation.
Conduction and convection require the presence of a material; radiation can pass through
space or vacuum. Conduction is the most significant process of heat transport in solid
materials and thus it is very important in the crust and lithosphere. Convection is also
important form of heat transport in the fluid mantle and core. Radiation is the least important
process of heat transport in the Earth. It is only significant in the hottest regions of the core
and lower mantle. The absorption of radiant energy by matter increases its temperature and
thereby the temperature gradient. Hence, thermal radiation can be taken into account as a
modification of the ability of the material to transfer heat by conduction.

1.3.1 Conduction
The atoms in a solid vibrate about their equilibrium positions. As they vibrate, collision occurs
and in the collisions they exchange energy with their neighbours. A diffusive process where in
molecules transmits their kinetic energy to other molecules by colliding with them. The
electrons are electrically charged. The net movement of conduction electrons also causes an
electrical current. The good electrical conductors, such as silver, copper are also good
conductor of heat. Conduction is a slow and less effective means of heat transport than
convection.

1.3.2 Convection
Convection transfers heat via the motion of the fluid. Convection is the most important
process of thermal transport in the fluid core, but it is also important in the mantle. However,
convection is a more effective mechanism than conduction and it is thought to be the
dominant process of heat transfer in the mantle. A further process of heat transfer that
involves bodily transport of matter is advection. A process associated with the motion of the
medium when a hot material flows into a cold material, it will heat the region and vice versa.
The loss of heat by convection reduces the difference between the gradients, Thermal
convection is augmented by compositional convection related to the solidification of the inner
core. Convection in the lithosphere does play a role in the mid-ocean ridges in the form of
hydrothermal ocean circulation.
1.3.3 Radiation
Radiation is the transfer of heat via electromagnetic radiation. Nuclei and electrons are
charged particles. When charged particles accelerate, they emit electromagnetic radiation and
loose energy. The particular wavelength of electromagnetic radiation associated with a
transition is proportional to the energy difference between the two states. Radiation signals,
heat, light x-rays are examples of electromagnetic radiation that have different wavelengths.
Radiation can travel through space or vacuum. Heat radiation corresponds to the infrared part
of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths just longer than those of visible light.

1.3.4 Heat flow and its measurement

Heat flow is measured indirectly, by combining geothermal gradient and thermal conductivity
data. The surface of the earth and even up to a particular depth are affected by diurnal and
seasonal variations of temperature. But below this zone there is a systematic increase of
temperature with depth, termed as the geothermal gradient. It is a vector quantity having
both magnitude and direction and is generally expressed in °C Km-1 or mK m-1. Thermal
conductivity is a tensor quantity for rocks and in general can be defined as the rate at which
energy crosses a unit area under the driving potential of a unit of a unit temperature gradient
perpendicular to the area. It is usually expressed in W m-1 K-1. Under steady state conductive
heat transfer conditions heat flow is determined by the product these two parameters.
Q0=K*𝜕𝑇/𝜕𝑍 (1)
Where, Q0: Surface heat flow, K: Thermal conductivity and 𝜕𝑇/𝜕𝑍 is the temperature gradient.

1.3.5 Thermal conductivity

Thermal conductivity 𝜆, is a measure of how heat easily heat is transmitted through a material.
It is a tensor operator that relates the heat flow vector to the thermal gradient vector within a
body, and it is an inherent physical property. Many rocks are anisotropic, with conductivity
dependent upon the direction of heat flow, but geothermal problems usually involve only the
vertical component. Thermal conductivity consists of two components; (i) Lattice component
and (ii) radiative component.
(i) Lattice or Phonon component
This is due to the diffusion of thermal vibrations in crystalline lattice and is inversely
proportional to the temperature (K α T-1) and is believed to be main mechanism of heat
transport. The atoms in a solid occupy definite positions that form a lattice with certain
symmetry. The atoms are not stationary but vibrate at a frequency that is temperature
dependent.

(ii) Radiative component

This component is due to infrared wave propagation and is proportional to the cube of the
temperature (K α T3). Radiation is reflected and refracted in transparent medium wherever
the refractive index changes; energy is transferred to the medium in each of these
interactions.

At any temperature, the effective conductivity is the sum of the lattice and radiative
components. However, the contribution of lattice component to thermal conductivity is
dominant and the radiative component of rock is negligible at lower temperature up to about
500 °C (Clark, 1956) and vice versa. Thermal conductivity is closely related to lithology.
Whenever possible, each lithology within the region of interest should be sampled for physical
thermal conductivity measurements. Ideally, these involve steady-state measurements on
core samples, but drill cuttings and transient methods can also be used with reduced accuracy
and precision.