Advective Heat Transport and the Salt Chimney Effect: A Numerical Analysis

Figure 10

Effects of depth-dependent permeability and salt dissolution and transport on the thermal structure and brine concentration near an axially symmetric diapir with a 60° dipping salt-sediment interface. Panels (a) and (b) show the model result with basal heat flux of 40 mW m⁻², and panels (c) and (d) show the model results with a basal heat flux of 63 mW m⁻². These simulations comprise the same geometry and hydraulic parameters as Figure 8 and provide a basis for assessing the relative contributions of thermal and salt transport to thermal structure when permeability decays with depth. Dark gray arrows denote general flow directions.