ADCOH Site Area

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 or a seismic line to view the basic data.

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

Hatcher, Jr., R.D., Costain, J.K., Coruh, C., Phinney, R.A., and Williams, R.T., 1987, Tectonic implications of new Appalachian ultradeep core hole (ADCOH) seismic reflection data from the crystalline southern Appalachians, in Deep Seismic Reflection Profiling of the Continental Lithosphere, edited by D. Matthews and C. Smith, Special Issue of the Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, v. 89, pp. 157-162.

Coruh, C., Costain, J.K., Hatcher, R.D., Jr., Pratt, T.L., Williams, R.T., and Phinney, R.A., 1987, Results from regional vibroseis profiling: Appalachian ultra-deep core hole site study, in Deep Seismic Reflection Profiling of the Continental Lithosphere, edited by D. Matthews and C. Smith, Special Issue of the Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, v. 89, pp. 147-156.

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.

Hatcher, Jr., R.D., Williams, R.T., Edelman, S. H., Costain, J.K., Çoruh, C., Phinney, R.A., Roy-Chowdury, K., Decker, E.R., Zoback, M. D., Moos, D., and Anderson, R.N., 1988, The Appalachian Ultradeep Core Hole (ADCOH) Project, in, Deep Drilling in Crystalline Bedrock, Vol. 2, Edited by A. Boden and K.G. Eriksson, Springer-Verlag, p. 117-154.

Costain, J.K., Coruh, C., and Boyer, S.E., 1993, Synchronous thrusting and folding near the Blue Ridge master decollement: An interpretation from reflection seismic data, Geological Society of America Abstracts With Programs, v. 25, No. 6, p. A-178.