Geothermics of Climate Change

University Of Utah, Salt Lake City UT

Investigators

Abstract

Chapman and Harris 0126029 Temperature-depth profiles measured in boreholes contain a temporal record of past changes in surface ground temperature (SGT) and provide valuable constraints on climatic variations over the last few centuries. Although much has been learned in the last two decades about the subject "geothermics of climate change" there are important questions remaining. What regions of the continents are experiencing transient ground warming, and by how much? What are baseline temperatures at the time of the industrial revolution prior to the instrumental record of global warming? What is the relationship between air and ground temperature over time scales appropriate to climate change studies? What is the sensitivity of surface ground temperature change to climatic parameters such as solar radiation, precipitation, and snow cover? What are the significant factors impacting comparisons between geothermal data and meteorological surface air temperature (SAT) records? How much heat is being stored in the outer layers of Earth as a result of 20th Century warming? This project will answer these questions by developing methods for and performing analyses in the geothermics of climate change. The study entails four interrelated tasks: (1) operation of a real-time surface observatory (weather station at a borehole site) to monitor meteorologic variables and near-surface temperature; (2) data analysis making quantitative estimates of the effects of solar variations, snow, and precipitation effects on ground temperatures; (3) repeat temperature logging in selected boreholes to isolate transient temperature fields associated with climate change; and (4) combined analysis of geothermal and meteorologic data to reconstruct climate change at local, regional, and global scales.