GEOPHYSICAL INVESTIGATION TO ESTIMATE THE CURIE POINT DEPTH, HEAT FLOW AND GEOTHERMAL GRADIENT IN SOKO AND ANKPA, BENUE TROUGH NIGERIA

Abstract

This work presents the interpretation of the aeromagnetic data over Soko and Ankpa area using spectral analysis method. The study area was divided into eight (8) equal spectral blocks in order to estimate the depth to the top boundary, centroid, Curie point depth, heat flow and geothermal gradient of the study area. The result of the analysis shows the range of the depths to the top boundary and centroid varies between 1.085 to 1.984 km and 6.151 to 8.730 km respectively. The Curie temperature isotherm ranges between 11.112 km and 15.476 km and the geothermal gradients associated with it ranges from 39.967 and 52.196 0 𝐶⁄𝑘𝑚. The corresponding values of heat flow ranges from 93.697 𝑚𝑊𝑚􀀀 and 130. 49􀀁 𝑚𝑊𝑚􀀀. From this analysis, it was observed that areas with high geothermal gradient correspond to high heat flow and an inverse relationship exists between the heat flow and the Curie point depth. With the high geothermal gradient especially at the southeastern part of the study area, there is a possibility of enough geothermal energy for exploration in order to boost and generate clean energy for electricity.