THERMAL STRUCTURE OF THE CRUST AND UPPER MANTLE OF LIAOHE RIFT BASIN, NORTH CHINA

On the basis of analysing terrestrial heat flow and mantle heat flow values, the crustal temperatureat depth was calculated for Liaohe Rift Basin in North China, and a conceptual model of thermal struc-ture of the crust and upper mantle of the Basin has been suggested. Results indicate that Liaohe Basinis characterized by a relatively high mantle heat flow (0.98 HFU) but low crustal heat flow (0.57HFU),both caused by upwelling of the asthenosphere and crustal thinning during rifting process in early Eo-gene in thc region studied. This sort of thermal structure of the crust and upper mantle seems to beinherent in the region in between tectonically stable and active areas and has been considered to be theproduct of the history of geological evolution of the Basin since Mesozoic era.