24 new recently measured heat flow data of Bohai bay basin are reported firstly here, combining all the heat flow data available of this region, the distribution pattern of present-day heat flow and its tectonic implications are presented in this paper. Generally, the heat flow data of the Bohai bay basin is still representative and the value ranges from 45mW/m2 to 90mW/m2, although the sites of measurement are sparse spatially and not cover the whole region well. Diverse statistical analysis is applied to this heat flow dataset for calculating the mean value and the results show that the average heat flow varies between 64 and 66mW/m2 by different methods. The mean heat flow of the Bohai bay basin is 64.4 +/- 8.1mW/m2 calculated by quality weighting mean square deviation statistics with 0.5 degrees x0.5 degrees geodetic coordinates. The distribution pattern of heat flow of the Bohai bay basin is characterized by high in the northeast and central parts but low in the southwest area, and the value within basin is higher than those of the surrounding mountain areas; we propose that this pattern is related with the crustal differential thinning and activities of the large ultra-crustal fault zones in this region. Additionally, the present-day heat flow of the Bohai bay basin is obviously larger than those of the western areas of the North China Craton (NCC), indicating the different thermal regime and thermodynamics of lithosphere in the eastern and western parts of the NCC. As the latest heat flow compilation of the Bohai bay basin, the results presented here provide some geothermal constraints on the destruction of the North China Craton. (c) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
