Thermal properties of the lower continental crust (DIVE project)

The PhD thesis is one of five PhD projects of the Drilling the Ivrea Verbano ZonE (DIVE) project and aims to find new constraints of thermal properties of metamorphic rocks, to map the thermal structure of the lower continental crust (LCC) based and to assess the spatial variability of thermal properties across scales and their effect on heat flow determination uncertainties, based on drilling cores. The thermal characterisation of the rocks will be done by measuring radiogenic heat producing elements K, U and Th and scanning the thermal conductivity. Furthermore, the findings will be linked with the results of the other PhD projects, so that the relation between thermal, seismic and petrological properties of the deep crust will be established.