TQTec

March 21, 2026 ยท View on GitHub

Overview

TQTec and TQClim calculate the one-dimensional transient thermal field for an area that experiences geologic, tectonic, and/or climatic events. The package also includes programs for estimating thermochronologic observables corresponding to the temperature history.

Example input model files (which include comments describing their format) are available in the examples directory.

Programs

  • tqtec: calculate thermal histories for crustal scale models (units: km, Ma)
  • tqclim: calculate thermal histories for surface scale models (units: m, yr)
  • readtqtec: post-process tqtec/tqclim outputs
  • minage: model mineral ages for temperature histories
  • petro: model petroleum-related observables for temperature histories

Scripts

Bash scripts showing how to run models and plot the model results are available in the scripts directory. These scripts are included in the build and bin directories when TQTec is built and installed. The plotting scripts require Generic Mapping Tools (GMT).

Installation

Dependencies

We recommend installing these programs with a package manager, either Homebrew on macOS or something like APT on Linux OS.

  • GNU Fortran and C compilers
  • CMake
  • Make
  • Git
  • Generic Mapping Tools (required for plotting scripts)

Instructions

  1. Download TQTec from Github. Navigate to the directory where you want to download the TQTec code, then type the following commands:

    git clone https://github.com/mherman09/tqtec ./tqtec
cd tqtec
mkdir build
cd build

  2. From the build directory, build TQTec with:

    cmake ..
cmake --build .

  3. Install the programs in /opt/tqtec (you may specify a different installation directory if you prefer) with the following command:

    cmake --install . --prefix /opt/tqtec

    You may need to run this command with sudo in front of cmake to give permission to install in this location.

  4. Add /opt/tqtec/bin (or wherever you installed TQTec) to your PATH, so your computer can find the programs. For example, if your shell is zsh and you installed TQTec in /opt/tqtec, add the following to the .zprofile file in your home directory:

    export PATH=$PATH:/opt/tqtec/bin

Updating TQTec

Updating TQTec is as simple as going to the build directory and typing:

git pull

Then repeat steps 2 and 3 from the installation instructions above.

Authors

  • Kevin Furlong: Thermal physicist extraordinaire; created original TQTec; advises TQTec development
  • Matthew Herman: Thermal physicist in training; slightly obsessive; updated TQTec to Modern Fortran; maintains and develops TQTec
  • Chris Guzofski: Bulk thickening and metamorphism
  • Matthew Legg: Apatite fission track and petroleum observables
  • Rachel Piotraschke: (U-Th)/He dating and helium diffusion in apatite