Articles | Volume 17, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-17-1117-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-17-1117-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Geothermal implications of the lithosphere's thermal structure in northern Pakistan
Muhammad Anees
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
LIAG Institute for Applied Geophysics, Hannover, Germany
Department of Structural Geology and Geothermics, Geoscience Centre, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
David Hindle
Department of Structural Geology and Geothermics, Geoscience Centre, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
Ernesto Meneses Rioseco
LIAG Institute for Applied Geophysics, Hannover, Germany
Department of Structural Geology and Geothermics, Geoscience Centre, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
Jonas Kley
LIAG Institute for Applied Geophysics, Hannover, Germany
Bernd Leiss
LIAG Institute for Applied Geophysics, Hannover, Germany
Mumtaz Muhammad Shah
Department of Earth Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
Javed Akhter Qureshi
Department of Geology and Mountain Hazards, Karakoram International University, Gilgit, Pakistan
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Central western Europe underwent a strange episode of lithospheric deformation, resulting in a chain of small mountains that run almost west–east across the continent and that formed in the middle of a tectonic plate, not at its edges as is usually expected. Associated with these mountains, in particular the Harz in central Germany, are marine basins contemporaneous with the mountain growth. We explain how those basins came to be as a result of the mountains bending the adjacent plate.
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Short summary
Northern Pakistan has many hot springs, but the lack of direct measurements leaves the temperatures deep beneath these mountains poorly constrained. Using computer models, we show that heat from naturally radioactive rocks and the upward movement of hot crust can produce unusually high underground temperatures, especially beneath steep valleys. Our results identify deep valleys in the Nanga Parbat and Karakoram regions as promising areas for future geothermal exploration.
Northern Pakistan has many hot springs, but the lack of direct measurements leaves the...