Heat-producing granitoids of North Pakistan as potential geothermal prospects

北巴基斯坦的喜马拉雅暴露出大量的，部分体积的花岗岩类岩石，富含放射性元素。该地区地表热流的升高部分归因于这些岩石中浅层放射性成因热的产生，以及快速的挖掘和潜在的摩擦/应变加热。我们的目标是通过采样一系列典型岩性并确定其放射性核素含量和其他地球化学参数来探索放射性成因热生产的作用。所得数据将用于数值模型。设计这些模型是为了测试花岗岩类的放射性含量、形状和体积的变化与背景热通量对浅层（低至几公里）地下温度和温泉水温度的影响。根据第一次取样活动和对放射性成因含量的初步分析，我们假设具有较低放射性成因核素浓度的大体积花岗岩和片麻岩可能比小而强富集的浅花岗岩和伟晶岩更适合地热勘探。提高对巴基斯坦北部地热潜力作为地质框架功能的认识，可能有利于生活在这些偏远地区的社区。

The Himalayas of North Pakistan expose numerous and in part voluminous granitoid rocks enriched in radiogenic elements. Elevated surface heat flow in the region has been attributed in part to shallow production of radiogenic heat in these rocks, in concert with rapid exhumation and potentially frictional/strain heating. We aim to explore the role of radiogenic heat production by sampling a range of typical lithologies and determining their radiogenic nuclide contents and other geochemical parameters. The data obtained will be used in numerical models. These models are designed to test the effect of variations in radiogenic content, shapes and volumes of granitoids versus background heat flux on temperatures of the shallow (down to a few km) subsurface and of hot spring waters. On the basis of a first sampling campaign and preliminary analyses of radiogenic contents we hypothesize that large-volume granitoids and gneisses with somewhat lower concentrations of radiogenic nuclides may be better targets for geothermal exploration than small, strongly enriched leucogranites and pegmatites. Improved understanding of the geothermal potential as a function of the geological framework in North Pakistan may benefit communities living in these remote regions.