Thermal conductivity, density, petrological and geochemical characteristics of granitoids from Singhbhum Craton, eastern India

doi:10.1016/j.geothermics.2020.101855

Geothermics

Volume 87, September 2020, 101855

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geothermics.2020.101855 Get rights and content

Highlights

•
Co-eval granitoids show increasing trend in thermal conductivity from north to south.
•
Variation in thermal conductivity can be related to diverse magma sources.
•
Density is slightly higher for gneisses than for granites.

Abstract

Laboratory measurements have been made on 162 granitoid samples for thermal conductivity, density, and porosity from the Singhbhum Craton in eastern India, one of the oldest cratons (3.53 Ga), which is surrounded by highly-rich mineralized belts. Study reveals that the thermal conductivity of co-eval Paleoarchaean granitoids depicts an increasing trend, statistically different at a 95 % confidence level, from north to south. This variation can be attributed to the relative abundances of major minerals and is corroborated by diverse nature of magma sources. Extensive coverage for thermal conductivity would help in robust estimates of heat flow for which plans are underway.

Introduction

Estimating thermal conductivity across a depth-section over which an undisturbed geothermal gradient can be gleaned is important in determining heat flow. Cratons are the only continental segments to elucidate crustal thermal structure (in terms of crustal temperature-depth profile and in arriving at mantle heat flow), which is a key factor in geodynamics. Essential parameters for the crustal thermal structure are surface heat flow, which is the boundary condition, and plausible crustal models for radiogenic heat production and thermal conductivity. Results of the outcome of such studies from India have been reported by Ray et al. (2003); Roy and Rao (2003); Roy et al. (2008); and Podugu et al. (2017).

Thermal and physical properties are also useful in geo-engineering projects such as site selection for nuclear waste repository, underground tunnelling for railways and hydroelectric power generation, underground storage of natural gas, etc. They are also useful in various geo-scientific applications, tectonics, volcanology, geodynamic evolution, geothermal exploration, borehole heat exchanger, and environmental geophysics.

There are several methods for measuring thermal conductivity, broadly divisible into two types, the steady-state (divided-bar) and the transient (line-source, needle probe, optical scanning). The term steady-state implies no change with time within the medium. Therefore, the temperature/heat flux remains unchanged with time during steady heat transfer through a medium. The term transient implies variation with time, or we can say it is time-dependent. Details about these methods are provided by Benfield (1939); Birch (1950); Popov et al. (1999); Ray et al. (2007); Popov et al. (2016); Chopra et al. (2018).

Thermal conductivity is governed by major-mineral composition, texture, porosity, and foliation (e.g., Brigaud and Vasseur, 1989; Schön, 2015). For igneous rocks, thermal conductivity is isotropic to a good approximation and porosity is low as compared to sedimentary rocks (Clauser and Huenges, 1995; Popov et al., 2003). Thus, for granitoids with very low porosity and negligible anisotropy, thermal conductivity is primarily controlled by constituent major minerals.

Singhbhum Craton in eastern India has not so far been covered for crustal thermal structure, and this study is an attempt to obtain thermal conductivity data before proceeding to get boreholes drilled for measurements of geothermal gradient and estimation of heat flow, and further studies related to radiogenic heat production of the crustal column. Plans are underway to get cored boreholes as well as make use of boreholes of opportunity in this regard. Heat flow is generally estimated from un-cored boreholes that are drilled by different agencies and found undisturbed by groundwater movements. Therefore, constraining thermal conductivity in such a case is a very important factor to estimate heat flow and thermal structure.

In the present study, thermal conductivity has been measured in the laboratory using a steady-state divided-bar apparatus, at dry and saturated conditions, for major granitoids from the core of the Singhbhum Craton for the first time on 162 rock samples. A large number of granitoid samples have been collected from fresh outcrops or quarries covering different parts of the craton over a 20,000 km² area, for thermal conductivity, density, and porosity measurements. Samples have been characterized by petrography and major-oxide geochemistry. Interesting trends are brought forth in variation, primarily in thermal conductivity, relatable to mineralogy, and the diverse nature of magma sources of the granitoids.

Section snippets

The Singhbhum Craton

The Indian sub-continent, south of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, is a mosaic, comprising Archaean cratons (Singhbhum, Bundelkhand, Bastar, Dharwar, Aravalli), Proterozoic sedimentary basins (such as the Cuddappah), Gondwana rift valleys and basins (Damodar, Mahanadi, Godavari), Mesozoic-Cenozoic sedimentary basins (such as the Cambay) and the Deccan Volcanic Province (Fig. 1). The Archaean cratons are diverse in their character. For example, the Dharwar Craton in south India is marked by a two-fold

Thermal conductivity, density, and porosity

Thermal conductivity has been measured using a steady-state thermal conductivity meter (Quickline-10 @ANTER). Accuracy in thermal conductivity measurement varies between ±3% to ±8% depending on sample size and thermal conductivity. The precision of the measurement ranges from 0.01 to 0.03 for the thermal conductivity ranges from 1.5 to 3.0 Wm⁻¹ K⁻¹. Details about the apparatus, calibration procedure, and measurement method are given in Chopra et al. (2018).

The rock samples were cored, cut, and

By major oxides

The major-oxide compositions of the individual samples are shown in Table S1. The averages for each phase, along with the standard error, are shown as a Harker plot in Fig. S1. Statistically distinct geochemical characteristics have been observed between granites (SBG) and gneisses (OMTG). Compared to the gneisses, granites have more SiO₂ and K₂O, less CaO, Fe₂O₃ and TiO₂, similar Na₂O and Al₂O₃. For each of the three phases of Singhbhum Granite, region-wise, no significant variation can be

Results

The data on thermal conductivity, density, and porosity are presented for the OMTG group, the three phases of Singhbhum Granite and the much Younger Granite, on 162 samples, in Table 2. Each phase of granite and gneiss are spatially distributed in the northern, central, and southern regions of the craton. Also, we have combined three phases of Singhbhum Granite region-wise (Table 2), as discussed in Section 2.3. Actually, 293 discs were measured representing the 162 samples, and the data of

Thermal conductivity of the granitoids: global scenario

Thermal conductivity has been measured for granitoids by several workers reporting heat flow determinations in various parts of the world. Most of the thermal conductivity measurements reported here have been done by the steady-state method. Data from the different geological provinces of the Indian Shield along with the Singhbhum Craton are shown in Fig. 6a. Data reported from several Archaean provinces and sub-provinces from other shield regions globally are shown in Fig. 6b. Details are

Conclusions

Following are the outcomes of this study covering thermophysical properties, petrology, and geochemistry for the granitoids of the Singhbhum Craton.

1
The density of the Older Metamorphic Tonalite Gneiss (2680 kg m⁻³) is marginally higher than that for the three phases of Singhbhum Granite (2620 to 2670 kg m⁻³).
2
Intra variations in the thermal conductivity of the Singhbhun Granite (SBG) are discernible, an increasing trend from northern to southern regions in the case of SBG II and SBG III. Thermal

Authors statement

All the authors contributed substantially in various stages of the research work

1
Conception and design of study.
2
Acquisition of data.
3
Analysis and/or interpretation of data.
4
Writing and revising the manuscript.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgments

The research work is supported by the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research grant [GEOMET (MLP-0002-28-FBR-2)] and Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India grant [MoES/P.O.(Geo)/116/2017 and MoES/P.O.(Geosci)/45/2015]. Thanks to G. Ravi, Sudipta Mondal, Shibani Nayak, Abhishek Topno, P. P. Mahato, P. Rambabu, Varun Kumar, and K. Mahesh who were either participated for collecting samples in different field-seasons or preparation of samples required for analysis. Thanks to Dr. A.

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Thermal conductivity, density, petrological and geochemical characteristics of granitoids from Singhbhum Craton, eastern India

Highlights

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

The Singhbhum Craton

Thermal conductivity, density, and porosity

By major oxides

Results

Thermal conductivity of the granitoids: global scenario

Conclusions

Authors statement

Declaration of Competing Interest

Acknowledgments

Geothermics

Precambrian Res.

Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.

Lithos

Precambrian Res.

Gondwana Res.

Precambrian Res.

Chem. Geol.

Geothermics

Tectonophysics

Phys. Chem. Earth

Precambrian Res.

Precambrian Res.

Tectonophysics

Trondhjemite: definition, environment and hypotheses of origin

Terrestrial heat in Great Britain

Proc. R. Soc. A-Math Phys.

Flow of heat in the Front Range, Colorado

Geol. Soc. Am. Bull.

The thermal conductivity of rocks and its dependence upon temperature and composition

Am. J. Sci.

Mineralogy, porosity and fluid control on thermal conductivity of sedimentary rocks

Geophys. J. Int.

Thermal conductivity of rocks and minerals

The Interpretation of Igneous Rocks. George