A new database structure for the IHFC Global Heat Flow Database

TLDR

The Global Heat Flow Database has been periodically revised by the International Heat Flow Commission, and recent growth in data, methodological advances, and digitization since its last update in 1976 necessitate a new database structure. This work introduces a new GHFD structure designed to facilitate reassessment and revision of the global heat‑flow dataset. The new structure specifies detailed database fields, exploits modern data‑management capabilities, adheres to FAIR and open‑data principles, links entries to DOIs, IGSN numbers, and other external resources, and will be supported by an upcoming quality‑assessment scheme. A restructured version of the database is released alongside this publication, providing a foundation for collaborative data screening, quality control, and future revisions.

Abstract

Periodic revisions of the Global Heat Flow Database (GHFD) take place under the auspices of the International Heat Flow Commission (IHFC) of the International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI). A growing number of heat-flow values, advances in scientific methods, digitization, and improvements in database technologies all warrant a revision of the structure of the GHFD that was last amended in 1976. We present a new structure for the GHFD, which will provide a basis for a reassessment and revision of the existing global heat-flow data set. The database fields within the new structure are described in detail to ensure a common understanding of the respective database entries. The new structure of the database takes advantage of today's possibilities for data management. It supports FAIR and open data principles, including interoperability with external data services, and links to DOI and IGSN numbers and other data resources (e.g., world geological map, world stratigraphic system, and International Ocean Drilling Program data). Aligned with this publication, a restructured version of the existing database is published, which provides a starting point for the upcoming collaborative process of data screening, quality control and revision. In parallel, the IHFC will work on criteria for a new quality scheme that will allow future users of the database to evaluate the quality of the collated heat-flow data based on specific criteria.