Abstract 1813 geothermal gradient measurements from deep wells have been accessed across the African plate. Thermal conductivities based largely on North African sampling and publications have been used to either directly estimate heat flow from these or to calibrate other author's figures to form a standardised dataset. Variations seen in geothermal gradient can be due to lateral changes in lithology and thermal conductivity. The thermal regime of West Africa is shown to be consistent and featureless, with the exception of high heat flows over some igneous-influenced areas such as Senegal/Mauritania. Southern Africa is consistently thermally cold. More tectonically active regions in eastern and northern Africa show far more variation and generally higher heat flows. Two main controls are identified, namely time elapsed from rifting/break-up and an igneous related input of heat from the mantle. Plots of heat flow against age of basin show support for McKenzie models of exponential thermal decline. The Red Sea is therefore a valid analogue for the past thermal regime of many current passive margins. Extinct magmatic margins are colder than their amagmatic counterparts. The regions of highest heat flow show a correlation with those of young mantle-derived igneous activity and those of anomalous upper mantle seismic velocities, indicative of partial melting.

中文翻译：

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非洲板块地温梯度和热流的区域变化

摘要 1813 年深井的地热梯度测量值已经跨越非洲板块。主要基于北非采样和出版物的热导率已被用于直接估计来自这些的热流或校准其他作者的数字以形成标准化数据集。地热梯度的变化可能是由于岩性和热导率的横向变化。除了塞内加尔/毛里塔尼亚等一些受火成岩影响的地区的高热流外，西非的热状况显示出一致且无特征。南部非洲持续炎热寒冷。东部和北部非洲构造活跃的地区表现出更多的变化和更高的热流。确定了两个主要控件，即从裂谷/破裂和来自地幔的火成相关热量输入所经过的时间。热流与盆地年龄的关系图显示了对指数热衰退的 McKenzie 模型的支持。因此，红海是许多当前被动边缘过去热状态的有效模拟。灭绝的岩浆边缘比它们的岩浆边缘更冷。最高热流区域与年轻地幔衍生的火成岩活动和上地幔异常地震速度的区域显示出相关性，表明部分融化。灭绝的岩浆边缘比它们的岩浆边缘更冷。最高热流区域与年轻地幔衍生的火成岩活动和异常上地幔地震速度的区域显示出相关性，表明部分融化。灭绝的岩浆边缘比它们的岩浆边缘更冷。最高热流区域与年轻地幔衍生的火成岩活动和异常上地幔地震速度的区域显示出相关性，表明部分融化。