Geothermal Regime and Origin of the Eastern Part
of the Barents Sea Region

E. V. Verzhbitskii

Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Received April 13, 1998; in final form, March 10, 1999

Abstract—A model of the lithospheric structure of the Barents Sea paleorift is elaborated. It is used to obtain
an estimate of the deep heat flow (50 mW/m^–2), a value that is supported by the results of seismic, gravity, and
geothermal studies. An analysis of the data acquired allows one to infer that enhanced heat flow values
(70mW/m^–2) with respect to the background are related to the heat and mass transfer caused by the ascending
branch of the hydrocarbon fluid motion. The values of temperature at the boundaries of the sedimentary layers
calculated from the geothermal data are well correlated with the temperature range of the hydrocarbon gener-
ation and are confined mostly to the Carboniferous–Permian and Triassic–Jurassic sedimentary sequences. This
implies the validity of the suggested model of the structural and thermal–physical cross section of the lithos-
phere in the region of the Barents Sea paleorift. The modeling of the heat flow anomaly caused by the injection
of a magmatic intrusion in the area of the Ludlov neck in the Late Jurassic shows a significant (3.5-fold, on the
average) increase in paleotemperatures in the sedimentary cover over 5 My. Numerous manifestations of the
hydrocarbon gases in this zone may be related to an additional heating of the sedimentary cover favoring acti-
vation of the processes of katagenesis.

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