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Part of the book series: Exploration of the Deep Continental Crust ((EXPLORATION))

Abstract

The trends of heat flow density in West Africa are discussed in relation to the large-scale structural framework. The heat flow density is low in the stable Archean nuclei (30–40 mW m−2) and increases to 50–60 mW m−2 in the surrounding mobile belts affected by the Pan-African orogeny (600 Ma). In the northern part of West Africa, the high heat flow density (70–100mW m−2) is interpreted as resulting from a rejuvenation of the lithosphere during Mesozoic and Cenozoic in connection with several tectonic processes (Hercynian orogeny, Cretaceous rifting, Cenozoic volcanism and Alpine orogeny).

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© 1991 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Lucazeau, F., Lesquer, A., Vasseur, G. (1991). Trends of Heat Flow Density from West Africa. In: Čermák, V., Rybach, L. (eds) Terrestrial Heat Flow and the Lithosphere Structure. Exploration of the Deep Continental Crust. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75582-8_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75582-8_20

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-75584-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-75582-8

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