| Title | Unveiling the Global Heat Flow Database (GHFDB): A New Era for Geothermal Science and Subsurface Thermal Mapping |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sven Fuchs, Florian Neumann, Elif Balkan-Pazvanto?lu, Samah Elbarbary, Alexey G. Petrunin, Ben Norden |
| Year | 2026 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | |
| Abstract | After five years of coordinated international effort, the International Heat Flow Commission (IHFC), in collaboration with Task Force VIII of the International Lithosphere Program (ILP), presents the first fully quality-controlled and authenticated Global Heat Flow Database (GHFDB). This milestone marks a transformative leap in the availability and reliability of global heat-flow data, critical inputs for geothermal exploration, resource assessment, and lithospheric modeling. The GHFDB integrates data from over 1,700 publications, spanning from 1939 to 2025, utilizing standardized data formats, rigorous quality assessment procedures, and consistent metadata structures. The result is a robust and traceable dataset that significantly enhances confidence in estimates of heat flow density, thermal conductivity, and geothermal gradients, and their associated metadata. For the first time, the scientific community and the geothermal industry have access to an open-access, globally harmonized, quality-scored database of surface heat flow distribution, containing more than 120,000 data points from approximately 85,000 locations, including both continental (55%) and marine (45%) settings. The GHFDB brings together 85 years of scientific work, with high data densities in Europe, East Asia, Australia, and North America, and data scarcity in polar and wide marine regions, and many African countries. This presentation outlines the framework and methodology behind the development of the GHFDB, demonstrates key applications in geothermal resource characterization, and highlights opportunities for integration with other geoscientific data infrastructures. It sets a new benchmark for geothermal data quality and accessibility. We invite researchers, industry professionals, and data providers to explore and contribute to this resource. |