Tectonophysics, 69 (1980) 163-188 163

Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands

TERRESTRIAL HEAT FLOW IN THE TERTIARY BASIN OF CENTRAL

SUMATRA

HUMBERTO DA SILVA CARVALHO l, PURWOKO 2, SISWOYO ,

M. TH~RIN 2 and VICTOR VACQUIER 3
1 Programa de Pesquisa e P&-Gradua@ em Geofisica da UFBa, Instit~to de Fisica, Rua
Caetano Moura 123, Federa&o, Salvador, Bahia (Brazil)
2 Pertamino, Perwira 6, Jakarta (Indonesia)
3 University of California, San Diego, Marine Physical Laboratory of the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, Calif. 92093 (U.S.A.)

(Received February 9,1979;revised version accepted January 17, 1980)

ABSTRACT

Carvalho, H. da S., Purwoko, Siswoyo, Thamrin, M. and Vacquier, V., 1980. Terrestrial
heat flow in the Tertiary basin of Central Sumatra. Tectonophysics, 69: 163-188.

Heat flow at 170 locations in the Central Tertiary basin of Sumatra was determined
from thermal gradients obtained from the extrapolated oil well bottom hole formation
temperature and the assumed temperature of 80F at the surface. The effective thermal
conductivity of the whole rock column, by which the gradient is multiplied to get the
heat flow was calculated from measurements on 273 specimens of the geologic section
and inspection of 92 well logs. For the whole basin the gradient averaged 3.71 i- l.O4F/
100 ft (67,6C/km) the conductivity 4.83 i: 0.31 meal C-l cm-l set-l, giving an average
heat flow of 3.27 ?: 0.93 10s6 cal crne2 set-i which is about twice the world average. The
gradient and the heat flow vary inversely with the depth of the wells most of which
bottom in the pre-Tertiary basement. This may result from the basement rocks being
several times more conductive than the sediments. Mocef calculations on a narrow heat-
flow anomaly which rises from a base level of 3.2 HFU to 8.8 HFU suggest that it can be
caused by the intrusion less than 55,000 years ago of an igneous plug or Iaccolith no
deeper than 3 km and 2.2 to 4.6 km wide.
Using the gradients from the SEAPEX Geothermal Gradient Map and assuming a con-
ductivity of 5 meal cm-l C-l set- l, the heat flow in the North Sumatra basin, the South
Sumatra Basin, Sunda Strait and West Java is 2.5 HFU, while in Java east of 1lOE longi-
tude it drops to 1.9 HFU. Since subduction off Sumatra dates back at least to the Creta-
ceous, compression of the Asian plate against the Benioff zone is preventing the opening
of a back-arc basin. This does not preclude the possibility of occasional periods of crustal
tension corresponding perhaps to episodes of transgression which allow magma to rise
into the rocks underlying the basin.

INTRODUCTION

In the theory of plate tectonics, the concentration of volcanoes along the

border of the Pacific Ocean, the so-called ring of fire is accounted for by

0040-1951/80/0000-0000/$02.25 @ 1980 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company

164

magmatism associated with the subducting slab of oceanic lithosphere. The

magma for the volcanism is generated from the material of the asthenosphere
by the fluxing action of the water given off by the subducting slab. Origi-
nally the water entered the slab where it was formed at a submarine spread-
ing ridge. From towing thermometers and from observation and sample col-
lection with deep-diving submersibles we have direct evidence (Weiss et al.,
1977) that at spreading ridges sea water penetrates the extruding basalt,
cooling it and causing extensive hydration of olivine and other minerals. The
width and character of the low heat-flow anomaly at the very crest of
spreading ridges indicates penetration of sea water several kilometers into the
extruding basalt (Lister, 1972; Willis et al., 1974). When the subducting
slab, as it descends into the hot asthenosphere, heats up above 500C at the
depth of about 80 km, it gives off water from the dehydration of serpentine
and other hydrated minerals (Anderson et al., 1976). Ringwood (1977)
writes: Water . . . will be introduced into the wedge overlying the Benioff
zone continually throughout the 80-300 km depth interval. In the case of
the Sunda (Indonesia) island arc, the dip of the Benioff zone is only 30
(Fitch, 1970), which would bring magmatic diapirs mobilized by water given
off by the descending slab, to rise as far as 400 km away from the trench,
i.e., under the sedimentary basins of Sumatra. We may expect, therefore, to
find high heat flow in the back-arc region of the Sunda island arc even
though there is no deep marginal sea behind it, where heat flow is high in
most cases such as the Seas of Japan, or Okhotsk.
According to Uyeda and Kanamori (1979), subduction zones may be
classified according to whether or not large shallow intraplate earthquakes
are associated with them. Compared to the speed of plate motions, they
regard the subducting slab as relatively fixed in the asthenosphere in the
direction perpendicular to its. strike. The great shallow earthquakes occur
when the landward plate has a component of motion toward the subducting
slab, like the west coast of South America. When it moves away from the
slab, large shallow earthquakes are missing and a marginal sea is formed like
back of the Mariana trench. Subduction at the Sunda island arc dates as far
back as the Cretaceous (Katili, 1975). During all that time no deep marginal
sea has formed (Hutton, 19791, suggesting that the crust landward of the
descending slab has been in compression most of the time. The pronounced
pre-trench topographic swell with its slight rise of heat flow also indicates
compression (Vacquier and Taylor, 1966).
With the preceding discussion in mind, we shall examine the distribution
of anomalous heat flow in the Central Sumatra basin for clues leading to an
explanation of its origin.

GEOLOGY

The sedimentary basins of Sumatra and western Java are shown in Fig. 1.
The plate boundary is given by the axis of the deep sea trench and the rota-
 165

SUMATRA SEDIMENTARY BASINS

0 100 ZOO 300 400 500 km

--
APPROXIMATE SCALE

Fig. 1. Location of petroliferous basins of Sumatra and West Java. The relative plate
motion of 6.9 cm/yr is shown by the fat arrow.

tion of the Indian plate relative to the Eurasian plate about the pole at 29N
27E (Morgan, 1971) is shown by the fat arrow. The rate of rotation is 6.5
1 O- o /yr corresponding to a consumption rate of 6.9 cm/yr at western Java.
The geology of the Central Sumatra basin is described by Mertosono and
Nayoan (1974), by Mertosono (1975) and Hamilton (1979). The block fault-
ing of this Tertiary basin is controlled by a pre-Tertiary northerly grain and
by a younger northwesterly trend parallel to the present boundary between
the Indian and Asian plates. The Semangka fault with its right lateral dis-
placement strikes parallel to this convergent plate boundary and extends the
whole length of the southwestern portion of Sumatra. The Barisan moun-
166

TABLE I

Age of stratigraphic units in the Central Sumatra basin

Name of stratigraphic unit Age

Minas/Alluvium Quaternary
Petani Pliocene-Mid-Miocene
Telisa Mid-Miocene-Early Miocene
Sihapas group Early Miocene
Duri Early Miocene
Bekasap Early Miocene
Bangko Early Miocene
Menggala Early Miocene
Pematang Paleogene
Basement Pre-Tertiary

tains associated with this fault form the southwestern border of the basin.
Most of the rocks filling the basin crop out along the mountain front where
they can be sampled.
Cretaceous orogeny left the basement of the Central Sumatra basin with
numerous troughs and grabens striking NNW, which later during the early
Tertiary were filled with elastic and marine deposits during several epochs of
transgression and regression. The normal faults bounding these structures
have throws up to 7000 ft. The rocks constituting the pre-Tertiary basement
are greywacke, quartzite, and occasionally granite. During the Miocene the
present structural trend began to cause folding and faulting, with a NW strike
that one would expect from compression due to subduction of the Indian
Ocean floor. These movements became more intense during the Plio-Pleisto-
cene orogeny when magma was injected at scattered locations mostly close
to the Barisan mountains, giving rise to volcanoes, laccoliths and solfataras
on their eastern flank and also lifting the intramontane basins of the Barisan
range to high elevations. During the Quaternary, fluvial deposits were laid
unconformably on the Tertiary sediments.
In presenting our measurements on thermal conductivity, the names of
the stratigraphic units will be mentioned. From the discussion of the struc-
ture of the basin it is evident that these units vary in thickness over such a
wide range that it would be meaningless to assign to them some average
thickness, while to tabulate their thickness in each well would be unneces-
sarily cumbersome. Table I lists the formation names in order of increasing
age.

MEASUREMENTS OF THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY

Heat flow is the product of the temperature gradient by the thermal con-
ductivity. In this work we used the customary method of determining the
 167

temperature gradient as described in the Schlumberger well logging manual

or its equivalent given by Dowdle and Cobb (1974). It consists of calculating
by extrapolation the undisturbed formation temperature from at least two
measurements of temperature taken at different times at the same depth
near the bottom of the hole which are routinely taken during the well-
logging procedure. The mean temperature at the surface, obtained from
meteorological records, is then subtracted from the formation temperature
and the difference divided by the total depth. Since this procedure deter-
mines the gradient over the entire depth of the well, one needs to calculate
the mean thermal conductivity likewise from the bottom clear to the sur-
face. We were able to do this because fortunately some samples of the upper
part of the section were available from a few exploratory holes.
The thermal conductivity of 273 representative specimens from the strat-
igraphic units listed in Table I was measured by the hot wire method
described in the Appendix. They were grouped by rock type from their
visual appearance into shale, sandstone, siltstone and basement, the latter

TABLE II
Average thermal conductivity by rock type

Rock Serial No. of tK) Standard

number samples (10m3 cal cm- deviation +
C-l set- )

Shale l-129 63 4.23 0.88

130-172 32 4.31 0.55
173-300 52 4.38 0.73
301-333 6 3.86 0.96

Weighted mean 153 (4.28) 0.76

Sandstone l-129 7.52 1.33

130-172 (5.65) 1.31
173-300 31 7.48 1.49
300-333 21 7.36 1.30

Weighted mean 86 (7.47) 1.38

Claystone only 10 (7.84, 1.75

from Pematang

Graywacke 18 (9.68) 2.34

Quartzite 6 (15.42) 0.37

Basement 12.55
273

Serial numbers 130-172 are from Telisa outcrop. ( ) were not used for averaging.
168

consisting of greywacke or quartzite. When in the well records the word

Basement occurred, we used the average of the two. With the exception of
eleven samples of sandstone from the Telisa formation cropping out in a
stream bed, the averages of the four sets of specimens gave concordant values
of thermal conductivity (Table II).
From the average values of conductivity for rock types listed in Table II,
we calculated the average conductivity of the stratigraphic units of Table III
by inspecting electric well logs from 92 wells. Taking a particular strati-
graphic unit, the boundaries of which are marked on the well log record, the
total thicknesses of shale and sandstone in the stratigraphic unit were deter-
mined from the amplitude of the spontaneous potential (SP) trace. Attempts
should be made in the future to refine this admittedly crude division so as to
allow for inte~ediate types, e.g., sandy shales and shaly sands. Perhaps this
can be done by assigning intermediate values of spontaneous potential to
these types of rock. The method could be refined further by taking into
account porosity and whether gas, oil or water is the saturating fluid
(Car&ho and Vacquier, 1977), factors that also affect the amplitude of the
SP trace. Because in sedimentary basins the average conductivity is largely
determined by the greater thickness of the poorly conducting rocks (usually
shales), differences in the conductivity of the more conducting sandstones
caused by shaliness, porosity and saturating fluid are relatively minor. As a
rule, the contribution of the basement rocks to the average conductivity was
less than 2%.
To calculate the mean conductivity of a particular stratigraphic unit, let
the individual rock types with conductivities K,, K1, K3 .,. have total thick-
nesses d,, d2, d3 . . . as determined from the electric log or well file. The mean
conductivity of the stratigraphic unit:

The stratigraphic units of Table I appear with their mean conductivity val-
ues in Table III. They were determined at 23 different locations plotted on
the map of Fig. 2 for a total of 92 wells. With the exception of one value,
the spread of the conductivities for a particular stratigraphic unit is small.
The mean conductivity of stratigraphie units increases with formation age,
reflecting the greater thickness of sandstones in the older strata. They range
from 4.26 - low3 to 6.69 * 10m3 cal cm- *C- see-.
The mean thermal conductivity for the whole rock column penetrated by
the well is calculated by the same method, the conductivities being the aver-
age conductivities of the stratigraphic units given by Table III, and d,, d2 . . .
their individual thicknesses.
The thicknesses of the stratigraphic units in wells the electric logs of
which were not examined, were gotten from the well files and the mean con-
ductivities of the stratigraphic units in Table III. All conductivity values are
entered in the fourth column of Table IV where the data from which the
TABLE III

Thermal conductivity of stratigraphic units (meal cm- OC- set-l )

Location No. of Minas Petani Telisa Duri Bekasap Bangko Menggala Pematang
on map wells
of Fig. 3

32a 4 4.39 5.54

65 1 4.38 5.87
67 3 4.29 4.29 4.38 5.22
68 10 4.76 4.92 5.76
74 10 (5.85) 4.72 4.52 5.43
75 1 4.29 4.31 4.44 5.23 6.78
116 11 4.44 4.98 6.04 5.59
139 2 4.35 4.40 5.77 5.36
153 1 4.29 4.34 4.34 6.16
155 3 4.29 4.44 4.34 6.32 5.71 6.20
112a 2 4.29 4.35 4.58 5.75 5.32 4.84
112 4 4.21 4.25 4.39 5.53 6.65 5.97
111 2 4.21 4.25 4.51 5.53 5.54 6.95 5.29
85 7 4.33 4.34 4.51 4.52 5.83 5.38 6.41 4.50
83 1 4.29 4.32 4.81 4.49 6.09 5.40 6.65 5.26
84 5 4.21 4.28 4.89 4.60 6.74 5.65 6.90 5.19
86 2 4.21 4.23 4.41 4.75 6.12 5.58 6.56 5.52
48 1 4.32 4.39 4.91 6.21 4.78 7.03 4.65
46 7 4.30 4.87 5.13 6.08 4.92 7.11 7.44
44 1 4.35 4.48 5.44 5.99 5.22
41 8 4.38 4.98 5.50 6.25 5.78 7.48
26 4 4.21 4.28 4.63 5.40 5.89 5.99 6.11 4.21
148 2 4.64 4.37 6.12 5.68
-
92

Weighted mean 4.26 4.44 4.51 4.97 5.89 5.48 6.69 5.42 w
 hr
MALAYSIA I

THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
MAP OF
CENTRAL SUMATRA

Fig. 2. Thermal conductivity map of Central Sumatra Basin. The numbers refer to loca-
tions for which Table IV lists depth, gradient, conductivity and heat flow. Contour inter-
val is 0.25 meal C-l cm- set-.

conductivity map (Fig. 2) and the heat flow map (Fig. 3) have been drawn
are listed. Column 1 of the table gives the serial number of the location
plotted on the map of Figs. 2 and 3. The conductivity values were contoured
on Fig. 2 with a contour interval of 0.25 - 10e3 cgs which is smaller than the
uncertainty of the data, so that accuracy of representation is not lost by not
entering the individual conductivities on the map. A few data points are not
listed in Table IV, and those are mostly the ones for which the temperature
gradient was missing. In Table IV the thermal conductivity of 170 wells of
Fig. 2 is listed averaging 4.83 f 0.31 meal cm- set- C-l. As previously
noted, the differences between the individual values and the average in addi-
tion to errors of measurement, are caused by relative amounts of shale and
sand, which depends on regional location and local structure.
 HEAT FLOW 0 100 \
3
CENTRAL SUMATRA km

CONTOUR INTERVAL
IO,.
ONE W.F.U. -KB

Fig. 3. Heat flow in Central Sumatra basin contoured with an interval of one HFU (10T6
cal cms2 set -) _The numbers are locations for which Table IV gives the complete data.

TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS

The temperature gradients were obtained from the temperature measure-

ments recorded on the well logging recordings and an assumed ~m~erature
of 80F at the surface. Some calculations were done according to the pro-
cedure of the Schlumberger well logging manual, others by the equiv~ent
method of Dowdle and Cobb (1974). Because of cooling by the circulating
fluid, the temperature T at the bottom of the well rises after circulation is
stopped prior to logging. Let Ti be the undisturbed formation temperature
we seek, tk the circulation time, At the time after circulation ceases, and C a
constant, then:
172

TABLE IV

Temperature gradient, thermal conductivity and heat flow for locations numbered on
maps of Figs. 2 and 3

Serial no. of Total depth Temp. grad. Thermal Heat flow

locations on (ft) (F/100 ft) ** conductivity (HFU)
Figs. 2 and 3 * (meal 0-l
C-l set-,)

1 1876 2.9 5.03 2.66

2 1812 4.89 6.07 5.41
3 4157 3.4 4.50 2.79
4 7135 2.2 5.08 2.04
5 2430 5.0 4.57 4.16
6 5140 3.24 5.13 3.03
7 4500 3.1 4.48 2.53
8 899 10.5 4.55 8.71
9 3161 2.52 5.00 2.35
10 5546 2.6 5.92 2.81
11 4092 3.24 4.99 2.95
12 1946 5.0 4.51 4.11
13 4140 3.0 5.00 2.73
14 4039 3.84 4.80 3.36
.15 4344 3.42 4.53 2.82
16 5177 3.0 4.91 2.68
17 3192 3.3 4.98 3.00
18 1899 4.28 4.71 3.67
19 2440 3.58 5.06 3.30
20 1386 2.75 5.64 2.83
21 4426 2.75 5.42 2.72
22 3495 2.6 5.28 2.51
23 3088 3.67 5.23 3.50
24 6078 2.65 5.12 2.47
25 5296 3.24 4.51 2.66
26 4103 3.69 4.83 3.23
27 3952 3.42 4.12 2.57
28 2356 4.07 5.09 3.78
29 5676 2.92 4.49 2.39
30 1600 3.46 4.70 2.96
31 1475 3.12 4.73 2.69
32 1626 3.35 3.99 2.44
32a( 15) 1180 5.42 4.77 4.71
33 3247 5.15 5.03 4.72
34 4406 3.2 4.87 2.84
35 6128 1.9 5.33 1.85
36 5707 3.1 5.01 2.83
36 4923 3.42 4.94 3.08
37 3000 3.7 4.93 3.32
38 2620 3.69 4.97 3.34
39 7517 3.28 4.96 2.97
40 1527 2.65 5.56 2.69
41(8) 3932 3.95 5.08 3.17
41 2935 3.8 4.75 3.29
 173

TABLE IV (continued)

Serial no. of Total depth Temp. grad. Thermal Heat flow

locations on (ft) (F/100 ft) ** conductivity (HFU)
Figs. 2 and 3 *

42 3241 3.85 4.76 3.34

43 2460 4.3 4.53 3.55
44 3070 4.35 4.74 3.76
45 3101 4.58 4.64 3.87
46(7) 3600 3.85 4.85 3.40
47 3496 4.19 4.77 3.64
47 3699 3.5 4.73 3.02
48 4498 3.6 4.88 3.20
49 5450 2.70 4.79 2.36
49 2.8
50 4703 2.76 4.72 2.37
51 4115 3.7 4.85 3.27
52 4043 3.63 4.80 3.18
53 5664 3.3 4.74 2.85
54 7477 3.2 4.81 2.81
55 8163 3.07 4.78 2.67
56 8520 3.24 4.79 2.83
57 7112 3.38 4.76 2.93
58 6543 3.47 4.64 2.93
59 6626 3.23 4.62 2.72
60 6658 2.9 4.60 2.43
61 6277 3.0 4.64 2.54
62 6696 2.75 4.64 2.33
7071 3.24 4.62 2.73
Z(8) 1155 4.38 4.79 3.82
65 1309 3.6 5.12 3.36
66 2176 3.4 4.63 2.87
67(5) 1970 4.01 4.53 3.32
68(17) 5607 2.87 4.96 2.59
69 1638 4.2 4.77 3.65
70 3164 3.6 5.17 3.39
71 1841 4.94 5.57 5.02
72 4691 3.2 4.58 2.67
73 4376 2.92 4.58 2.44
74( 10) 5040 3.31 4.96 2.99
75 6142 3.35 4.51 2.75
76 6073 3.55 4.53 2.93
77 5992 2.55 4.56 2.12
78 6356 3.75 4.62 3.16
79 6910 3.7 4.54 3.06
80 6670 3.2 4.69 2.74
81 7096 3.3 4.79 2.88
82 7701 3.0 4.84 2.65
83 6545 3.3 5.22 3.14
84 6291 3.17 4.99 2.88
84 5142 3.0 4.90 2.68
174

TABLE IV (continued)

Serial no. of Total depth Temp. grad. Thermal Heat flow

locations on (ft) (F/100 ft) ** conductivity (HFU)
Figs. 2 and 3 * (meal cm-
C-l set- )

3394 3.26 4.97 2.95

&4) 6500 3.72 4.70 3.18
86 4680 2.63 4.89 2.44
87 3597 2.79 4.81 2.45
88 2610 3.6 5.18 3.40
89( 22) 735 4.30 (4.80) (3.75)
89 1999 3.6 5.05 3.31
90 2397 3.7 4.96 3.34
91 4375 2.95 5.05 2.72
92 5221 3.23 5.10 3.00
93 1454 3.77 4.91 3.37
94 2264 3.52 5.07 3.25
95 4002 3.3 4.82 2.90
96 2950 4.58 4.61 3.85
97 4216 3.3 5.20 3.13
98 2101 4.8 4.81 4.21
99 2555 4.8 4.72 4.13
100 2111 2.45 5.17 2.31
101 2487 2.4 4.89 2.14
102 1922 2.87 4.93 2.58
103 1329 4.57 4.62 3.85
104 1624 3.6 4.87 3.20
105 1993 3.96 4.80 3.46
106 3328 3.96 4.68 3.38
107 2000 5.09 4.76 4.42
108 2378 4.44 4.80 3.88
109 2942 3.24 4.60 2.72
110 1980 5.0 4.91 4.47
111 5814 2.94 4.96 2.66
112 4281 3.46 4.82 3.04
112a 4020 3.47 4.81 3.04
112(3) 3722 3.0 4.66 2.55
113 1818 3.4 4.78 2.96
114 4560 3.42 4.62 2.88
115 3825 3.69 4.64 3.12
116(100) 3.77 4.94 3.77
117 3200 4.2 4.59 3.51
118 3249 3.9 4.54 3.23
119 3811 3.74 4.72 3.22
120 5027 3.05 4.65 2.59
121 4121 3.35 4.66 2.85
122 4963 3.26 4.98 2.96
123 2250 4.2 4.73 3.62
124 1804 4.26 4.99 3.87
125 1473 4.1 4.70 3.51
126 1479 4.48 4.86 3.97
 175

TABLE IV (continued)

Serial no. of Total depth Temp. grad. Thermal Heat flow

locations on (ft) (F/100 ft) ** conductivity (HFU)
Figs. 2 and 3 * (meal cm-
C-r see-r)

127 942 4.2 4.64 3.55

128 1847 3.4 4.91 3.04
129 2932 3.57 4.64 4.32
130 3591 3.11 4.60 2.61
131 1288 4.1 6.20 4.63
132 3410 4.03 4.82 3.54
133 2623 4.35 4.49 3.56
134 4241 4.1 4.87 3.64
135 3927 3.6 4.46 2.91
136 4254 3.1 4.44 2.51
137 5490 3.0 4.48 2.45
138 2856 4.7 4.57 3.91
139 2248 7.1 4.56 5.90
140 1634 8.0 4.46 6.50
141 2893 4.17 4.58 3.48
142 2513 5.2 4.67 4.43
143 4820 3.65 4.87 3.24
144 2784 3.81 4.93 3.42
145 2594 4.7 5.50 4.71
146 2532 3.3 5.08 3.06
147 1340 4.36 4.61 3.66
148(8) 1111 8.47 5.71 8.82
149 2003 5.58 4.46 4.54
150 2834 5.8 4.79 4.52
151 3847 3.9 4.74 3.37
152 5628 3.2 4.78 2.79
153 2229 4.35 4.61 3.59
154 3003 4.4 4.77 3.83
155(3) 3337 4.04 4.69 3.44
156 5900 3.13 4.73 2.70
157 5026 3.4 4.61 2.86
158 6570 3.2 4.72 2.75
159 3565 3.4 4.50 2.79
160 5754 3.37 4.95 3.04
161 6094 2.55 4.77 2.22
162 2967 3.35 4.53 2.77

Total number 172 170 170

Average and standard deviation 3.71 f 1.04 4.83 t 0.31 3.27 f 0.93

After deletion of items exceeding one standard deviation:

Total number 144 147
Average and standard deviation 3.56 t 0.53 3.06 * 0.43

* ( ) denotes no. of wells averaged.

** lOF/lOO ft = 18.23 *C/km.
* ** 1 HFU = lob6 cal cmm2 set- .
176

Plotting T on semi log paper against (tk + At)/At and extrapolating the
straight line to unity yields Ti. The formula has been arrived at -empirically
and verified experimentally. Having obtained the formation temperature, we
subtract the mean annual surface temperature. What we shall call the temper-
ature gradient is this temperature difference divided by the total depth.
Because the conductivity varies with the nature of the rock as previously dis-
cussed, the gradient along the hole is not constant, so that the actual under-
ground temperatures at intermediate depths cannot be accurately calculated
by just using the average gradient. In fact, stratigraphic correlation has been
done by Beck (1976) and by Conaway and Beck (1977), from detailed tem-
perature logging of cased bore holes.
The calculated temperature gradient depends on the assumptions that the
average surface ~mperature has remained constant during the time that heat
takes to diffuse from the bottom of the wells to the surface (ZO,OOO-
200,000 yrs), and that there is no upward transfer of heat due to circulation
of rain water. As we have mentioned previously, the subduction zone is well
anchored in latitude and also the time involved is short - no more than
200,000 yrs. The bottom hole temperatures (BHT) are about 75F (42C)
greater than the surface temperature. At the equator, an average climatic
temperature change greater than 10% of this figure is unlikely.
The circulation of meteoric water in the upper part of the geologic section
would increase the conductivity and therefore the heat flow above the G&U-
lated values. Some flow of water there must be happening so that the actual
heat flow is greater than we have calculated. However, one would expect wa-
ter circulation to be different from place to place, causing a greater scatter of
values than is observed. Because the scatter of observed values is small, the
effect of vertical motion of water must be negligible,
The tempe~ture gradient does depend, however, on the depth of the wells
or of the basement, as shown in Fig. 4, despite the fact that the mean con-
ductivity is greater for the shallower wells.
To see whether perhaps the extrapolated formation temperatures are
dependent on the depth through some unexpected connection and to evalu-
ate the precision of the values of the gradients, the data from which Fig. 4
was drawn, are tabulated in greater detail in Table V. The locations of these
fields, given in the first column of Table V, appear as numbered points on
the maps of Figs. 2 and 3. As can be seen from the map of Fig. 3, the average
depths of the seven fields in Fig. 4 and Table V are irregularly distributed,
the depths depending mostly on local structure rather than on geographic
position. The second column of Table V gives the number of wells from
which the data were taken, 179 in all. The temperature gradient with its
standard deviation calculated from the extrapolated formation temperature
(Dowdle and Cobb, 1974) appears in the,fourth column, while the gradient
from the last measured temperature is in column five. Dividing the numbers
in column five by the numbers in column four (column six), shows that this
ratio is independent of the depth, so that if no account were taken of the
 177

TEMf? GRNXENT PF/l05ft~

a
12

*~

I I I I I 1
,

Fig. 4. Temperature gradient in OF/ZOO ft vs. depth in ft for seven fieIds. The number of
wells from which data were averaged is given next. to the plotted points.

cooling caused by circulating the well prior to logging, the gradients would
be only 15% lower. This furnishes a criterion for rejecting data. When the
ratio of the two gradients is less than 0.80, the value is regarded as suspect. If
the departures from the mean follow the normal dis~ihution~ and they

TABLE V
Precision of temperature gradients for seven fields

Field Number Average Gradient Gradient Ratio of Probable

location of depth from from last col. 51 error of
on Figs. wells (ft) extrapolated measured col. 4 value from
2 and 3 formation temperature one we11
temperature (F/100 ft)
(F/lOO ft) *

89 22 735 4.30 t 1.28 3.66 + 0.90 0.85 0.58

32a 15 762 5.42 rt 1.30 4.62 * 0.21 0.85 0.51
148 8 1024 8.47 -+ 1.59 6.56 c 1.34 0.77 1.07
64 8 1131 4.38 0.93 3.77 r a.74 0.86 0.47
67 5 1724 4.01 + 0.50 3.45 -+ 0.36 0.86 0.44
116 104 2714 3.77 It 0.65 3.14 + 0.33 0.83 O-28
68 17 4589 2.87 + 0.25 2.45 + 0.17 0.85 0.12

179

* Muitipiy by 1823 to obtain *Cikm,

178

actually did in the case of the Minas Field where we examined the data from
100 wells, one can calculate the probable error of a single gradient determi-
nation which is given in the last column of Table V. It means that, without
regard to sign, errors greater than this value and those that are smaller, have
equal probability of occurring, so that if we had a great number of determi-
nations there would be about as many errors with absolute values greater
than the probable error, as there would be smaller. If in Table V we assume
that the gradient from the extrapolated formation temperature is the correct
value and discard the data from fields where fewer than 15 wells were used,
the probable error is about 8.6%. So that we can say with fair assurance that
a probable error smaller than 10% can be incurred from an acceptable gra-
dient in the case of a heat flow value obtained from a single well. The third
column of Table IV gives 172 gradients at locations numbered on the heat
flow map of *Fig. 3. They average 3.71 f l.O4F/lOO ft (67.6 * lS.OC/km).
After deletion of entries exceeding one standard deviation, 144 values that
are left average 3.56 t 0.53F/lOO ft (64.9 + 9.7C/km). As in the case of
the conductivity, a portion of the departures from the average is real. For
example, the gradient of 8.47 at location 148 is the average from eight wells
with a standard deviation of 1.59.

HEAT FLOW

The last column of Table IV gives the heat flow in HFU for the numbered
locations of the map of Fig. 3. The overall average of 170 values at 162 loca-
tions is 3.27 f 0.93 HFU. Deleting the entries which depart from this figure
by more than one standard deviation, like the unrepresentative value at loca-
tion 148, leaves 147 values averaging 3.06 + 0.43 HFU. This is higher than
the average heat flow in all the back-arc basins around the Pacific Ocean
(Watanabe et al., 1977).
The heat flow map of Fig. 3 has been contoured on the assumption that
the heat flow follows the trend of the Barisan mountains, with heat flow
rising steeply to the southwest. Although the 5 HFU contour depends on
only three widely spread points, the 4 and the 3 HFU contours depend on
more values and run parallel to it. The center of the basin is cooler: between
2 and 3 HFU. Proceeding farther to the northeast, the heat flow rises over
the northeastern rim of the basin to over 4 HFU. From there it drops, as
indicated by a few scattered values at the northeastern edge of the data.
Most of the structures in the basin also strike NW.

MAGMATIC DIAPIRISM

On Fig. 3, a narrow feature strikes N-S between locations 138 and 149,
reaching a value of 8.8 HFU at location 148. Unfortunately, the data points
are too sparse to define the shape of the heat flow anomaly; all we know is
that it rises from 3.2 to 8.8 HFU in about 5 km. This narrowness and high
 179

amplitude indicate both recent origin and a shallow source of heat. To esti-
mate these quantities we have calculated the thermal effects of an igneous
intrusion which has stoped its way into the pre-Tertiary basement and then
solidified at a certain depth. We do not regard circulation of hot water as a
likely source of the high heat flow, even though it would be noteworthy
indeed to have commercial deposits of petroleum maturated by a hot spring.
Where we have direct evidence for the circulation of hot water, the heat flow
values scatter from zero to over 30 HFU (Williams et al., 1974), whereas at
location 148 we have eight wells with an average temperature gradient of
8.47 ? 1.59F/lOO ft. Also the well-documented extension of this anomaly
to the south suggests the presence of a more extended source than hot
springs, sucn as an igneous intrusion which occurred during the late stage of
the Barisan uplift.
We have used the calculation of Simmons (1967) of the heat flow over a
rectangular parallelopiped for estimating the maximum age and the maxi-
mum depth of burial. As is often the case in geophysics, the model gives the
limiting value of some parameters on one side only. Our model fails to give
the shallowest depth of burial. The latter has to be fixed by other considera-
tions such as there should be room enough for oil-bearing rocks. We do not
claim that the actual intrusion is rectangular. All that the calculations are
intended to demonstrate is that rectangular models having the same values of
physical constants but widely different dimensions are younger than about
55,000 years and cannot lie deeper than about 3 km (see Table VI). From

TABLE VI
Dimensions and age of intrusion models
(See Figs. 5 and 6. 12 = 0.01195)

Model hf. 1010 x2 Y2 21 z2 t . lo3

no. (km) (km) (km1 (km) Yrs
1 1.00 2.31 0.5 0.90 26.5
2 1.00 2.31 - 1.0 1.30 26.5
3 1.00 2.31 m 2.5 3.13 26.5
4 1.00 2.31 m 2.90 m 26.5

5 1.00 2.31 2.31 0.5 0.94 26.5

6 1.00 2.31 2.31 1.0 1.33 26.5
7 1.00 2.31 2.31 2.5 3.24 26.5
8 1.00 2.31 2.31 2.82 m 26.5
9 2.05 1.11 m 0.5 2.08 54.4
10 2.05 1.11 m 1.0 2.37 54.4
11 2.05 1.11 - 2.5 4.48 54.4
12 2.05 1.11 CC 2.82 m 54.4

13 2.05 1.11 1.11 0.5 4.87 54.4

14 2.05 1.11 1.11 0.86 = 54.4
180

Fig. 5. Parameters for a rectangular intrusion that could account for the heat flow
anomaly at l*N 102OE on the map of Fig. 3. The model calculations are summarized in
Table VI.

this we propose without proof that models of other geometric shape such as
ellipsoids or cylinders would not give substantially different maximum ages
and depths of burial.
The theory of the model assumes that intrusion is instantaneous when
compared to the time it takes heat to diffuse to the depth of the wells. As is
usual in such calculations, the thermal conductivity and diffusivity of the
intrusion are assumed to be the same as for the country rock and constant in
time. The geometry of the model is shown on Fig. 5. The origin of coordi-
nates is over the center of the body so that 3c2= --x1 and y2 = -yl. The depths
to the top and bottom are z1 and z2, respectively. To keep the temperature
of the earths surface constant, the effect of a negative image source shown
by dashed lines on Fig. 5 is added. In addition to these dimensions, the sym-
bols appearing in the equations are:
t = time in seconds since emplacement of the body.
R = thermal conductivity in cal cm- C- set-I.
k = thermal diffusivity = K/cp where c is the heat capacity and p the den-
sity. We assume cp = 0.55.
T, = the contribution of the intrusion to the bottom hole temperature in
C. It is 26.4C at the depth of the wells (312 m) at location 148.
Q, = 5.56 - 10s6 cal cm- set- is the heat flow along the vertical due to the
intrusion as explained below.
S = 1374C is the source strength.
The value of S is the difference between the original temperature of the
 181

intrusion and the surface temperature, 26C with an allowance for the heat
of fusion. The temperature at the time of intrusion we assumed to be
1200C. To take care of the heat of fusion we added 200C for a total of
1400C from the following argument. Heat of fusion = 90 Cal/g X 2.6 = 234
cal crnm3(J.W. Hawkins, personal communication, 1979). If we use the figure
for granite, cp = 0.55, the temperature increase to take care of the heat of
fusion is 234/0.55 = 425C. We assumed that the diapir consists of 50%
molten material, thus adding 200C to the initial temperature of 1200C.
The equations of Simmons (1967) are:

T, = z Etx, ~1, ~2) E(Y, Y 1, y,)[E@, 21%22) + E@, -ZI, ---%)I (2)

-KS
Q, = __ E(x, xl, x2) E(y, yl, y,)(e-z:/4kf - e--s~i4kf) (3)
4&Z-t
and:

(4)

to which we add the condition:

E, = E(x = 0, x1, x2) = ~E(x = 2.5 km, x1, x2) (5)

Starting with eq. 2, T, is the contribution of the intrusion to the average
measured temperature at the average depth of the eight wells at location
148, z = 312 m. The average gradient in the five wells surrounding location
148, viz locations 147, 146, 144, 151, and 152 is 3.82 + 0.53FjlOO ft
(Fig. 3, Table IV). Subtracting this from the gradient at location 148 which is
8.47F/lOO ft (Table IV) and multiplying by the depth of 1024 ft (312 m)
gives T, = 26.4C. In eq. 3, Q, is the contribution of the intrusion to the
heat flow at location 148. Averaging the heat flow at the same surrounding
locations gives 3.26 HFU which when subtracted from 8.82 HFU at location
148, leaves Q, = 5.56 HFU.
Since we do not know the exact way the heat flow decreases away from
the origin, we have assumed by eq. 5 that it drops to half value at x = 2.5
km. Equation 5 holds for a limited range of 3c2 and kt. For the practical
ranges of these quantities we have arbitrarily chosen two points where the
curve has some slope, x2 = 2.3 km, and is not too steep, 3c2= 1.1 km. The
corresponding values for kt are 1.0 - lOlo and 2.05 . 10i. Since the origin is
over the center of the intrusion, x2 = -xi, making ExcO = 2 erf (x&G?) at
x = 0 (Fig. 6). In the case of a square cross-section when x2 = yz, E, = E,.
When, however, x2 # yZ, E, has to be calculated from eq. 4 by replacing xs
with ys but using the value of kt appropriate to the chosen value of x2.
The conductivity is not assumed, but is determined by the heat flow value
Q, and the temperature at the bottom of the wells Tz. It is obtained by
0.83 -

XZ, km
Fig. 6. E,=, = 2 erf(xzfa) plotted against x2, the half width in km for a chosen value
of ht, obtained from Fig. 7.

dividing eq. 2 by eq. 3 and setting z2 = 00.

K = - E(z, z,, -zl)

4
exp 4ht = 6.58 . 10e3 (6)
2Tz
So long as the values of the parameters are such that eqs. 2 and 3 are valid,
the reader can verify by substituting numerical values, that K is independent
of both kt and zl. The range for kt for which this is true was determined
from Fig. 7: 1.0 - 10 < ht < 2.05 - 10 and forz, from eq. 3: 0.5 < z, <
2.9 km when z2 = mS The calculated value of K is the only one that will
satisfy both eq. 2 and eq. 3.

-I

Fig. 7. The product kt - thermal diffusivity times the time elapsed since intrusion,
plotted against the half-width x2 in km for the condition that the amplitude of the anom-
alous heat flow at x = 2.5 km be half of its maximum value, as expressed by eq. 5.
 183

Table VI lists the dimensions and the depth of burial for minimum and
maximum ages of a few representative rectangular models pictured in Fig. 5.
In Table VI, the values of z2 were calculated from eq. 3 for arbitrarily chosen
values of 2 1:

z2 = [-4kt ln[exp(g] - y g-)ll (7)

The maximum value of z1 for a given kt pertains to a body of infinite depth

extent, i.e. when the square bracket in eq. 7 is zero, z2 = 00,

DISCUSSION

We interpret the small value of conductivity of 6.58 meal cm- C set

when compared to the measured value of 12.55 for basement rocks in Table
II to the negative temperature coefficient of quartzitic fo~ations. Basalt
and gabbro have a conductivity of 4.5 which is nearly constant between 0
and 4OOC, which rules them out except as sporadic occurrences (Birch and
Clark, 1940, fig. 5). According to Kanamori et al. (1968), the conductivity
of quartz has a broad min~um and is fairly constant at 7.3 meal cm- C
set between 350 and 950C. Beyond this temperature, radiative heat trans-
port takes over and the conductivity rises again.
By projecting the gradient calculated from the total measured heat flow,
we obtain the present average temperature at the depth of the models of
Table VI. If we include the temperature at the surface, the bottom of the
wells is at 74C. The temperature gradient below 312 m, Q/K = 134C/km.
Take for example the bottom of model no. 3 of Table VI which is at 3.13
km. The average temperature for the region between this depth and the
depth of the wells is :[(74 X 2) c (3.13 - 0.312) 1341 = 263C. By scaling
the curves for quartz in Fig. 2 of Birch and Clark (1940), we find that its
conductivity at 263C is about 0.57 of what it is at 25. By multiplying our
measured value of 12.55 in Table II by this factor, we get 7.2 meal cm- C
set for K, which is close enough to the calculatedvalue of 6.58, especially if
we take into account that the average temperature in the past was higher
than at present. Thus, it is likely that quartz is a major constituent of the
basement rocks below sampling depth.
As previously mentioned, the dependence of the temperature gradient and
of the heat flow on the depth to the basement, so well brought out in Fig. 4
and Table V, is too large to be interpreted as resulting from a recent cooling
of the climate. It must be caused in large part by the great conductivity con-
trast between the sediments and the pre-Tertiary basement rocks along with
the steepness of the block-faulted structures of the basin. On Fig, 4, the
point corresponding to the field at location 148 is way off the average slope
to the right, suggesting the presence of an additional source of heat that we
tried to model.
The Geothermal Gradient Map of the southeast Asia (SEAPEX, 1977)
184

TABLE VII
Average heat flow in five sedimentary basins of Sumatra and Java from temperature
gradients of the SEAPEX map multiplied by 5 10s3 cgs, the average thermal conduc-
tivity found in the central basin of Sumatra

Basin Temperature Number Heat flow

gradient - of wells (HFU)
avg. value
fF/lOO ft) *

North Sumatra 2.77 + 0.53 23 2.52

Central Sumatra 3.26 i 0.67 23 2.97
South Sumatra 2.75 + 0.58 34 2.51
Sunda 2.80 ? 0.93 13 2.55
West Java 2.68 f 0.56 19 2.44
East Java 2.26 + 0.38 25 1.88

* Multiply by 18.23 for C/km.

gives a general picture of the heat flow in the sedimentary basins of Java and
Sumatra shown on Fig. 1. The average geothermal gradient in the Central
Sumatra basin calculated from the 23 wells appearing on this map is 3.26F/
100 ft (59%C/km). This value is close to the value of 3.56 + 0.53F/lOO ft
we got from 144 wells in the same areas. There is no reason to expect that
the average thermal conductivity in the other basins of Java and Sumatra is
substanti~ly different from the one we found in the Central Sumatra basin.
The poorly conducting shales which make up a substantial part of the geo-
logic section determine to a large extent the average thermal conductivity.
We can expect the average conductivity to lie well within 4 and 6 * 10m3 cgs.
As previously noted, the average thermal conductivity of 4.83 + 0.31 * 1O3
cgs that we measured in Central Sumatra is probably smaller than the actual
one because it excludes heat transfer by circulation of ground water in the
upper portion of the section. Table VII gives the average heat flow in the
sediments basins of Sumatra and Java from averages of the temperature
gradients listed on the SEAPEX map on the assumption that the thermal
conductivity is 5 * 10m3 cgs. Heat flow appears to be uniform between 3.0
and 2.5 HFU from the North Sumatra basin to 1lOE longitude. East from
there it decreases, but the data points beyond 114E become too sparse to
average. Until the thermal conductivities are measured in the other basins,
the differences in the heat flow in Table VII cannot be regarded as signifi-
cant.
Where me~urements of geothermal gradient have been made, the heat
flow back of the Sunda Trench is high, which shows that there need not be
secondary spreading in a deep marginal sea for the heat flow to be high. The
absence of marginal seas north of the Sunda island arc rests on recent geo-
logic observations. Hamilton (1979) has constructed a new tectonic map on
which a feature of the granitic basement can be traced from Java to Kaliman-
 185

tan across the Java Sea, so that if one stripped off the sediments to the
northwest of this feature which would encompass most of the Java Sea, one
would expose the Cretaceous granite of an old continental margin.
In other parts of the world where the landward plate is moving toward the
trench, the subduction of Andean type of Uyeda and Kanamori (1979),
the heat flow is not always high. Back of the Andes in Lake Titicaca it is 1.1
HFU (Sciater et al., 1970) and the average temperature gradient in 73 oil
fields in Bolivia is only 0.8F/lOO ft (14.6C/km) (Cueto and Aliaga, per-
sonal communication, 1971). Watanabe et al. (1977) show the heat flow
in the Aleutian basin close to the world average,
Since there is no accepted explanation for epeirogeny, if one feels the
need to ascribe the appearance of high heat flow back of an island arc to
crustal tension, one might link periodic trans~e~ions and regressions of
epicontinen~l seas recorded in the sediments of the basin to periodic tension
and compression. If the sum of the tension episodes is smaller than the sum
of compressions, no marginal sea will be formed back of the arc. A highly
speculative hypothetical mechanism for increasing the heat flow back of sub-
duction appears in Fig. 8. It proposes that lava mobilized by entrainment of
water generates diapirs which cause andesitic volcanism at the edge of the
basin nearest to the subducting slab. Farther to the NE, the lava solidifies

PARTIAL MELTIN

I \ ,

Fig. 8. Subduction at the Sunda island arc opposite Sumatra after Katili (1975) and Ring-
wood (1977). Magmatic diapirs have risen under the Central Sumatra basin.
186

before reaching the surface, thus delivering heat at shallow depths. Faulting
of the landward plate in the geologic past and recent tectonic activity along
the Semangka Fault may have facilitated the penetration of the basement by
the diapirs.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Ir. N. Kusnandar, who, although not an author of this paper, has
~ont~bu~d as much to this work as we did. We also thank the m~agement
of P.T. Caltex Pacific Indonesia at Rumbai, Penkanbaru, who generously
provided all the data used in this study as well as manpower, laboratory
facilities and subsistence during our stay in Rumbai. We thank the Manage-
ment of Pertamina for permission to publish this paper and, in particular, Dr.
Ismet Akil, Permanent CCOP Representative for Indonesia, who organized
the project. The Introduction and Discussion sections of this paper benefited
from conversations with R.N. Anderson and TX Jordan. Kenneth C. Mac-
donald and D.L. Williams reviewed an early version of the m~u~ript, We
are particularly grateful to Seiya Uyeda for a thorough final review and for
his suggestions regarding the bearing of our data on island arc tectonics. The
construction of the thermal conductivity instrument donated to Pertamina
and partial support for Carvalho and Vacquier was financed by IDOE under
NSF Grant OCE 76-05542 to the University of California, San Diego. Car-
valho was supported in large part by Conselho National de Desenvolvimento
Cientifico y Technologico CNPq, Brazil. This paper is a con~ibution of the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, new series.

Appendix: THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY INSTRUMENT

The instrument used for measuring the thermal conductivity is an adaptation of the
one described by Von Herzen and Maxwell (1959) still used for measurements on ocean
bottom sediments. The sensor is sold commercially by Fenwall Electronics, Framingham,
Mass. (catalog number K1137A). It consists of a hypodermic needle 1 mm in diameter
and 6.3 cm long containing throughout its whole length a loop of heater wire with a
resistance of 356 Ohms. A thermistor having a resistance of about 1000 Ohms at 25C is
also located inside the needle 2.5 cm from its tip. The four wires are brought out to a
&pin plug held by a cylindrical steel housing welded to the needle. The heater wire and
the thermistor are fastened to the inner wall of the needle with Epoxy cement. The
needle is mounted so it is flush with the surface of the broad face of a rectangular block
of heat insulating material 9 X 9 X 3 cm, which consists of microspheres of glass filled
with air and cemented together with Epoxy, This material is used for floating oceano-
graphic instruments from the greatest ocean depths. Its density is 0.52 g cme3, its thermal
conductivity is 0.22 - 10m3 cal cm-r *C-r see-r and its heat capacity 0.039 cal g- OC-
making the thermal diffusivity 0.00109, which is much smaller than the diffusivity of the
average rock of about 0.011.
In the theory of heat conduction, the needle is represented by an infinitely long heat
source emitting q calories per cm length per sec. The rate of rise of temperature of such a
source when it is surrounded by an infinite medium is linearly proportional to the natural
logarithm of time (Carslaw and Jaeger, 1959, p_ 345; Blackwell, 1954). The thermal con-
 187

ductivity of an infinite medium:

9 Mb/t1 )
K=_
(A-1 1
4~ T2 -T,
where q is in cal per set per cm length of the linear source, Tz and T1 are temperatures at
times tz and ti after the heater current had been turned on. In the case of the half space,
this formula gives only one half of the true value of K if we neglect the heat that diffuses
into the microsphere plastic. In our latest experiments with this method the mean factor
by which the experimental values need to be multiplied is within 5% of 2. Actually other
sources of error more difficult to evaluate than the heat diffusing into the plastic enter
into play, like the leakage of heat into the body housing the connector and the flow of
heat toward the thermistor from portions of the needle not covered by the specimen
which become much hotter than the part of the needle that is so covered. This important
source of error is much reduced if the measurement is made in a shallow tray containing
light lubricating oil which covers the surface of the probe and which also serves to make a
good and uniform contact with the specimen. Practice has shown that the specimen need
not have a special shape or cover the whole length of the needle. The flat surface of the
sample should extend at least 1 cm all around the position of the thermistor and the sam-
ple should be at least 1 cm thick. The actual value of the number that is used to multiply
the conductivity obtained from the formula for the infinite medium is obtained statisti-
cally for each needle from measurements on specimens previously measured in a divided
bar apparatus.
The electrical measurements involved are extremely simple. The control box contains a
regulated d.c. power supply for feeding both the heater and the thermistor circuits. The
heater current can be adjusted between 25 and 50 mA. It is measured by a good quality
needle meter. For the measurement of temperature, the voltage drop across the thermis-
tor is compared to the voltage drop across an adjustable resistor by a high-resistance
recording millivoltmeter on a paper chart 10 inches wide. As the needle heats up, the
resistance of the thermistor decreases nonlinearly. To circumvent this inconvenience, a
ballast resistor of about 450 Ohms is connected in series with the thermistor, so that
when the resistance of the thermistor decreases, the current rises to make up for the non-
linearity. Over the range of temperatures used in the measurements, the voltage drop
across the thermistor is inversely proportional to the temperature, the constant being
about 8 mV per C for the safe value of the current of about 0.5 mA. This constant was
determined in a thermostated bath for each sensor. From eq. A-l it is evident that on
semilog paper a plot of millivolts on the linear scale against time on the logarithmic scale
will yield a straight line the slope of which when multiplied by the heat supplied per cm
and all the instrumental constants, gives the thermal conductivity. In practice it was
found that it is sufficient to read the record at just two fixed times. All the constants are
then lumped together and the result divided by the difference of the two voltage readings.
The curves were read at 0.7 and 1.5 min after the heater current is switched on. Using
three sensors, two men can process about 15 samples per hour.
A smooth saw cut is sufficiently flat for the measurement. In the case of loosely con-
solidated specimens we used a rotating lap with Carborundum grit in oil. The specimens
were immersed in a bucket containing a mixture of oil and kerosene, the liquid used for
cooling the saw, and left to stand overnight in the air conditioned laboratory where the
measurements were made. This procedure and the use of several sensors help to reduce
temperature drifts.

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