Crustal thermal structure of the Pan-African remobilized basement complex in north-central Nigeria: an integrated and interactive approach for geothermal prospectivity

In this study, an interactive analysis combined measurements of surface radiogenic heat production (RHP) and sub-surface heat flow data to predict the crustal thermal regime of the area. The radioactive decay of 40 K, 232Th and 238U radionuclides in combination with other processes generate a significant quantity of heat within the earth’s crust which can be utilized to produce green energy. Statistical analysis involving a box-whisker plot was used to optimize the generated RHP data with median RHP value of each lithologic unit presented as 3.2 gW m-3 (diorite), 2.9 gW m-3 (granodiorite), 3.1 gW m-3 (granite) and 2.7 gW m-3 (quartzdiorite). The results are in tandem with similar studies around the globe and are in near approximation to measurements that depict high heat production character. Heat generation predictions were extrapolated from the RHP values and displayed in percentile plots. The study showed that quartzdiorite presented the largest variation (from 5.2740 to 8.7185 HGU) in the region, followed by granite (from 6.1127 to 8.7445 HGU), then diorite (from 6.499 to 8.8975 HGU) and granodiorite (from 5.9870 to 8.3762 HGU). Heat flow measurements in 12 site holes within the granitoid emplacement showed averaged values of 48.5, 40.9, 48.5 and 28.9 mW m-2 for diorite, granodiorite, granite and quartzdiorite plutons, respectively. The analyzed thermal properties in this study suggest that the surface plutons are not deep-seated. An explanation for the high thermal condition of the deep-seated crustal rocks was adduced to tectonic events that distributed radioelements into reactivated inter-rift crustal blocks.