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Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 1994; v. 78; p. 27-42;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.1994.078.01.04
© 1994 Geological Society of London

Large-Scale Fluid Flow

Fluid flow and heat transport in the upper continental crust

David Deming

School of Geology & Geophysics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019-0628, USA

The upper 10–15km of the continental crust is saturated with aqueous brines and is sufficiently permeable to allow the circulation of these fluids. The most important driving forces for fluid flow in the continental crust are topography gradients, sediment compaction and diagenesis, and buoyancy forces. Topographically-driven flow is generally the most efficient mechanism for mass and heat transport, and therefore has recently been favoured in theories of the origin of Mississippi Valley-type lead-zinc deposits. The magnitude of heat transport by fluid movement in the crust has an exponential dependence upon the depth of circulation. In areas of the continental crust with appreciable topography gradients (c.0.01) and permeabilities greater than c.10–17m2, the background thermal state will likely be appreciably perturbed by groundwater movement. Fluid circulation in the upper crust is both continuous and pervasive due to topography and fluid-density gradients. The old conception of the continental crust as an unchanging body of solid rock should be replaced by a paradigm that recognizes the continental crust as a two-component system; a solid framework which continuously evolves through thermal, chemical, and mechanical interaction with crustal fluids.





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