On heat flow in Iceland

Abstract

Data on subsurface temperature conditions from borehole measurements in various parts of Iceland were presented. The subsurface temperature field is in many areas found to be controlled by the movement of water in the upper part of the crust, and so is also the surface heat flow by conduction.

Data were presented to show that conditions for free convection of water may well exist in the neovolcanic zone of Iceland. It is suggested that this phenomenon may account for the anomalous heat flow pattern observed on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

For a more detailed account of this paper the reader is referred to the following:

Gudmar Pálmason, 1967,On heat flow in Iceland in relation to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In:Iceland and mid-ocean ridges (Ed.S. Björnsson), Vis. Isl. (Societas Scientiarum Islandica), Reykjavik.