Heat flow in Albania

As part of a joint geothermal project between Albania and the Czech Republic, a field expedition was organized to Albania in summer 1993 to measure temperature profiles in selected boreholes and to collect rock samples to determine their thermal conductivity. Fourteen localities were visited and nine detailed temperature-versus-depth profiles were obtained. These results were completed with numerous industrial temperature records from other deep holes. The regional patterns of temperatures at 100 m depth and of characteristic near-surface temperature gradients were constructed, and the effect of the topography on the subsurface temperature field was assessed to calculate a total of 49 heat flow density data. A generally low geothermal gradient exists in all of the country, ranging from 7-11 mK/m in the synclinal belt, 11-13 mK/m in southernmost Albania, to a maximum of 18-20 mK/m in the central part of the Pre-Adriatic Depression. These values correspond to a low heat flow zone of 30 to 45-50 mW/m(2) extending from the north and bordering the Adriatic coast. Heat flow generally increases from west to east, but its distribution in the Inner Albanides is not clear.