ADCOH Site Area

The ADCOH (Appalachian UltraDeep Core Hole) site in northwestern South Carolina was selected for the purpose of siting an ultradeep (10-11 km) scientific hole. Part of the site study included the determination of heat flow at four holes located as shown in the following figure. Details of the heat flow results were reported by Costain and Decker (1987).

Click on a hole location to view the basic data.

ADCOH Seismic Lines ADCOH Seismic Lines ADCOH Hole 1 ADCOH Hole 3 ADCOH Hole 2 ADCOH Hole 4

Summary

The near surface geothermal gradient at the ADCOH Site in northwestern South Carolina is about 18-20 C/km. The heat flow is about 55 mW/m2. The maximum temperature expected at a depth of 10 km is less than 200 C.

References

  • Costain, J.K., and Decker, E.R., 1987, Heat flow at the proposed Appalachian Ultradeep Core Hole (ADCOH) site: Tectonic Implications, Geophysical Research Letters, v.14, No. 3, p. 252-255.