This page comprises a digital appendix to Hutnak and Fisher (2007), The influence of sedimentation, local and regional hydrothermal circulation, and thermal rebound on measurements of heat flux from young seafloor, J. Geophys. Res., 112, B12101, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JB005022, 2007.
Disclaimer and Request for Comment and Citation
(1) Information presented on this webpage is a product of research conducted with funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, and the Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics.
(2) While we have tried to make the documents and codes correct, we provide no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of furnished programs or associated information.
(3) We welcome comments and identification of bugs or suggestions as to changes that might be made in future generations of these tools. Please reach out to A. T. Fisher.
(4) If you make use of these tools or other information provided at this web site or in the original publication (listed above), please be sure to cite this work in your publications.
Hutnak, M., and A.T. Fisher, The influence of sedimentation, local and regional hydrothermal circulation, and thermal rebound on measurements of heat flux from young seafloor, J. Geophys. Res., 112, B12101, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JB005022, 2007.
Overview of SlugSed
SlugSed is a one-dimensional numerical model of fluid and heat transport coded in Matlab. In its most basic form, the model calculates the temperature distribution within a medium of finite thickness and known thermal conductivity and heat capacity, given appropriate initial and boundary conditions. The initial conditions consist of depth, temperature, rate(s) of radiogenic heat production or loss, and thermal conductivity for discrete points within the medium. The boundary conditions must be specified as temperature at the top of the medium and either temperature or heat flux at the bottom, and both can be time-variant. SlugSed can accommodate multiple distinct basement layers, each having independent property sets. In the case of sedimentation, the depth-variant physical and thermal properties within the accumulating sediment layer are derived from a user-specified porosity versus depth function. The thermal properties of basement layers (when in use) can be specified in bulk (i.e., applied to all points within the layer) or individually. Seepage of fluids within the sediment layer can be driven by compaction and consolidation, fluid overpressures in basement, or imposed explicitly.
SlugSed cookbook [PDF]
BuildSlugSed instructions [PDF], used to create the main SlugSed program
SlugSed source code archive [zip]
README.TXT from SlugSed archive [txt]
Example 1 (PDF)
Linear flow of heat in the solid bounded by two parallel planes. The region 0 < x < L. Ends kept at zero temperature. Initial temperature f(x)=V0, constant.
Example 2 (PDF)
Linear flow of heat in a solid bounded by two parallel planes. The region –L < x < L. Initial temperature = 0, ends at constant temperature.
Example 3 (PDF)
Linear flow of heat in a solid bounded by two parallel planes. The region –L < x < L. Zero Initial temperature. Heat production constant.
Example 4 (PDF)
Comparison to Benfield (1949) analytical solution for sedimentation on a semi-infinite half space.
Example 5 (PDF)
Comparison to Bredehoeft and Papadopulos (1965) analytical solution for steady-state fluid flow between two constant-temperature boundaries.
Example 6 (PDF), Sediment Accumulation
Constant sediment accumulation, variable sediment porosity, uniform basement properties.
Example 7 (PDF), Sediment Accumulation
Constant sediment accumulation, variable sediment porosity, high Nu (vigorously convecting) basement aquifer, variable conductivity basement.
Example 8 (PDF), Sediment Accumulation
Constant sediment accumulation, variable sediment porosity, high Nu (vigorously convecting) basement aquifer, variable conductivity basement, and heat sinks that shut down linearly. HFLX file containing time-series of heat sinks to represent linear reduction in advective heat extraction. This input file is called by the file that is linked to Example 8 above. Both files need to be in the same directory when Example 8 is run. NB: this HFLX file ends with “.txt” – change extension to “.hflx” before using.