Borehole Temperature Profiles Research Articles

Impact of postglacial warming on borehole reconstructions of last millennium temperatures

Abstract. The investigation of observed borehole temperatures has proved to be a valuable tool for the reconstruction of ground surface temperature histories. However, there are still many open questions concerning the significance and accuracy of the reconstructions from these data. In particular, the temperature signal of the warming after the Last Glacial Maximum is still present in borehole temperature profiles. It is shown here that this signal also influences the relatively shallow boreholes used in current paleoclimate inversions to estimate temperature changes in the last centuries by producing errors in the determination of the steady state geothermal gradient. However, the impact on estimates of past temperature changes is weaker. For deeper boreholes, the curvature of the long-term signal is significant. A correction based on simple assumptions about glacial–interglacial temperature changes shows promising results, improving the extraction of millennial scale signals. The same procedure may help when comparing observed borehole temperature profiles with the results from numerical climate models.

Borehole temperatures reveal details of 20th century warming at Bruce Plateau, Antarctic Peninsula

Abstract. Two ice core boreholes of 143.18 m and 447.73 m (bedrock) were drilled during the 2009–2010 austral summer on the Bruce Plateau at a location named LARISSA Site Beta (66°02' S, 64°04' W, 1975.5 m a.s.l.). Both boreholes were logged with thermistors shortly after drilling. The shallow borehole was instrumented for 4 months with a series of resistance thermometers with satellite uplink. Surface temperature proxy data derived from an inversion of the borehole temperature profiles are compared to available multi-decadal records from weather stations and ice cores located along a latitudinal transect of the Antarctic Peninsula to West Antarctica. The LARISSA Site Beta profiles show temperatures decreasing from the surface downward through the upper third of the ice, and warming thereafter to the bed. The average temperature for the most recent year is −14.78°C (measured at 15 m depth, abbreviated T15). A minimum temperature of −15.8°C is measured at 173 m depth, and basal temperature is estimated to be −10.2°C. Current mean annual temperature and the gradient in the lower part of the measured temperature profile have a best fit with an accumulation rate of 1.9×103 kg m−2 a−1 and basal heat flux (q) of 88 mW m−2, if steady-state conditions are assumed. However, the mid-level temperature variations show that recent temperature has varied significantly. Reconstructed surface temperatures (Ts=T15) over the last 200 yr are derived by an inversion technique (Tikhonov and Samarskii, 1990). From this, we find that cold temperatures (minimum Ts=−16.2°C) prevailed from ~1920 to ~1940, followed by a gradual rise of temperature to −14.2°C around 1995, then cooling over the following decade and warming in the last few years. The coldest period was preceded by a relatively warm 19th century at T15≥−15°C. To facilitate regional comparisons of the surface temperature history, we use our T15 data and nearby weather station records to refine estimates of lapse rates (altitudinal, adjusted for latitude: Γa(l)). Good temporal and spatial consistency of Γa(l) over the last 35 yr are observed, implying that the climate trends observed here are regional and consistent over a broad altitude range.

Impact of maximum borehole depths on inverted temperature histories in borehole paleoclimatology

Abstract. A quantitative assessment is presented for the impact of the maximum depth of a temperature-depth profile on the estimate of the climatic transient and the resultant ground surface temperature (GST) reconstruction used in borehole paleoclimatology. The depth of the profile is important because the downwelling climatic signal must be separated from the quasi-steady state thermal regime established by the energy in the Earth's interior. This component of the signal is estimated as a linear increase in temperature with depth from the lower section of a borehole temperature profile, which is assumed to be unperturbed by recent changes in climate at the surface. The validity of this assumption is dependent on both the subsurface thermophysical properties and the character of the downwelling climatic signal. Such uncertainties can significantly impact the determination of the quasi-steady state thermal regime, and consequently the magnitude of the temperature anomaly interpreted as a climatic signal. The quantitative effects and uncertainties that arise from the analysis of temperature-depth profiles of different depths are presented. Results demonstrate that widely different GST histories can be derived from a single temperature profile truncated at different depths. Borehole temperature measurements approaching 500–600 m depths are shown to provide the most robust GST reconstructions spanning 500 to 1000 yr BP. It is further shown that the bias introduced by a temperature profile of depths shallower than 500–600 m remains even if the time span of the reconstruction target is shortened.

Bayesian hierarchical modeling for temperature reconstruction from geothermal data

We present a Bayesian hierarchical modeling approach to paleoclimate reconstruction using borehole temperature profiles. The approach relies on modeling heat conduction in solids via the heat equation with step function, surface boundary conditions. Our analysis includes model error and assumes that the boundary conditions are random processes. The formulation also enables separation of measurement error and model error. We apply the analysis to data from nine borehole temperature records from the San Rafael region in Utah. We produce ground surface temperature histories with uncertainty estimates for the past 400 years. We pay special attention to use of prior parameter models that illustrate borrowing strength in a combined analysis for all nine boreholes. In addition, we review selected sensitivity analyses.

Pre-Observational Evolution of Surface Temperature in Romania as Inferred from Borehole Temperature Measurements

Temperature data from nine boreholes in the Carpathian orogen in Romania were used to obtain information on the ground surface temperature history (GSTH) in the last 250 years. The temperature measurements were taken with a thermistor probe (sensitivity in the 10 mK range) using the stop-and-go technique, at 10 m intervals, in the depth range of 20–580 m. The least squares inverse modelling approach of Tarantola and Valette (J Geophys 50:159–170, 1982) was used to infer the GSTH. Long-term air temperature records available from the Romanian weather station network were used as a comparison term for the first 100–150 years of the GSTH, and as a forcing function in a POM-SAT model that combines borehole temperature profiles (BTPs) and meteorological time series (surface air temperature, SAT) to produce information on the so-called pre-observational mean (POM). Results from a global circulation model for the Romanian area are incorporated in the discussion as well.

Propagation of linear surface air temperature trends into the terrestrial subsurface

Previous studies have tested the long‐term coupling between air and terrestrial subsurface temperatures working under the assumption that linear trends in surface air temperature should be equal to those measured at depth within the subsurface. A one‐dimensional model of heat conduction is used to show that surface trends are attenuated as a function of depth within conductive media on time scales of decades to centuries, therefore invalidating the above assumption given practical observational constraints. The model is forced with synthetic linear temperature trends as the time‐varying upper boundary condition; synthetic trends are either noise free or include additions of Gaussian noise at the annual time scale. It is shown that over a 1000 year period, propagating surface trends are progressively damped with depth in both noise‐free and noise‐added scenarios. Over shorter intervals, the relationship between surface and subsurface trends is more variable and is strongly impacted by annual variability (i.e., noise). Using output from the FOR1 millennial simulation of the GKSS ECHO‐G General Circulation Model as a more realistic surface forcing function for the conductive model, it is again demonstrated that surface trends are damped as a function of depth within the subsurface. Observational air and subsurface temperature data collected over 100 years in Armagh, Ireland, and 29 years in Fargo, North Dakota, are also analyzed and shown to have subsurface temperature trends that are not equal to the surface trend. While these conductive effects are correctly accounted for in inversions of borehole temperature profiles in paleoclimatic studies, they have not been considered in studies seeking to evaluate the long‐term coupling between air and subsurface temperatures by comparing trends in their measured time series. The presented results suggest that these effects must be considered and that a demonstrated trend equivalency in air and subsurface temperatures is inconclusive regarding their long‐term tracking.

Etude des facteurs contrôlant la profondeur des flux d’eau souterraine dans un aquifère de roches cristallines fracturées, Massachusetts (USA)

Groundwater movement and availability in crystalline and metamorphosed rocks is dominated by the secondary porosity generated through fracturing. The distributions of fractures and fracture zones determine permeable pathways and the productivity of these rocks. Controls on how these distributions vary with depth in the shallow subsurface (<300 m) and their resulting influence on groundwater flow is not well understood. The results of a subsurface study in the Nashoba and Avalon terranes of eastern Massachusetts (USA), which is a region experiencing expanded use of the fractured bedrock as a potable-supply aquifer, are presented. The study logged the distribution of fractures in 17 boreholes, identified flowing fractures, and hydraulically characterized the rock mass intersecting the boreholes. Of all fractures encountered, 2.5% are hydraulically active. Boreholes show decreasing fracture frequency up to 300 m depth, with hydraulically active fractures showing a similar trend; this restricts topographically driven flow. Borehole temperature profiles corroborate this, with minimal hydrologically altered flow observed in the profiles below 100 m. Results from this study suggest that active flow systems in these geologic settings are shallow and that fracture permeability outside of the influence of large-scale structures will follow a decreasing trend with depth.

Does hydrologic circulation mask frictional heat on faults after large earthquakes?

Knowledge of frictional resistance along faults is important for understanding the mechanics of earthquakes and faulting. The clearest in situ measure of fault friction potentially comes from temperature measurements in boreholes crossing fault zones within a few years of rupture. However, large temperature signals from frictional heating on faults have not been observed. Unambiguously interpreting the coseismic frictional resistance from small thermal perturbations observed in borehole temperature profiles requires assessing the impact of other potentially confounding thermal processes. We address several issues associated with quantifying the temperature signal of frictional heating including transient fluid flow associated with the earthquake, thermal disturbance caused by borehole drilling, and heterogeneous thermal physical rock properties. Transient fluid flow is investigated using a two‐dimensional coupled fluid flow and heat transport model to evaluate the temperature field following an earthquake. Simulations for a range of realistic permeability, frictional heating, and pore pressure scenarios show that high permeabilities (&gt;10−14 m2) are necessary for significant advection within the several years after an earthquake and suggest that transient fluid flow is unlikely to mask frictional heat anomalies. We illustrate how disturbances from circulating fluids during drilling diffuse quickly leaving a robust signature of frictional heating. Finally, we discuss the utility of repeated borehole temperature profiles for discriminating between different interpretations of thermal perturbations. Our results suggest that temperature anomalies from even low friction should be detectable at depths &gt;1 km 1 to 2 years after a large earthquake and that interpretations of low friction from existing data are likely robust.

Repeat temperature measurements in boreholes from northwestern Utah link ground and air temperature changes at the decadal time scale

Borehole temperature profiles provide a record of ground surface temperature (GST) change at the decadal to centennial time scale. GST histories reconstructed from boreholes are particularly useful in climate reconstruction if changes in GST and surface air temperature (SAT) are effectively coupled at decadal and longer time periods and it can be shown that borehole temperatures respond faithfully to surface temperature changes. We test these assumptions using three boreholes in northwestern Utah that have been repeatedly logged for temperature over a time span of 29 years. We report 13 temperature‐depth logs at the Emigrant Pass Observatory borehole GC‐1, eight at borehole SI‐1 and five at borehole DM‐1, acquired between 1978 and 2007. Systematic subsurface temperature changes of up to 0.6°C are observed over this time span in the upper sections of the boreholes; below approximately 100 m any temperature transients are within observational noise. We difference the temperature logs to highlight subsurface transients and to remove any ambiguity resulting from steady state source of curvature. Synthetic temperature profiles computed from SAT data at nearby meteorological stations reproduce both the amplitude and pattern of the transient temperature observations, fitting the observations to within 0.03°C or better. This observational confirmation of the strong coupling between surface temperature change and borehole temperature transients lends further support to the use of borehole temperatures to complement SAT and multiproxy reconstructions of climate change.

Observations of northern latitude ground‐surface and surface‐air temperatures

Note that the magnitude of temperature increases reconstructed from borehole records seems to contrast with some proxy based reconstructions of surface air temperature (SAT) that indicate lower amounts of warming over the same period. We present data suggesting that ground and snow cover may bias climate reconstructions based on BT in portions of the Canadian northwest. Eight sites west of the Canadian cordillera, were examined for long‐term SAT and GST changes. At seven of these sites precise borehole temperature profiles are used for the first time since the 1960s, thereby exploring the linkage between GST and SAT. New readings were made at four of these locations. All sites showed significant increasing SAT trends, in terms of annual mean minimum and maximum temperatures. Over a 54 year period, the minimum temperatures increased between 1.1°C and 1.5°C while the maximum increased between 0.8°C and 1.5°C, among those eight stations. Observations of GST at those sites, however, showed no obvious climate induced perturbations. Therefore, we believe that a trend in our area towards an increase in SAT temperatures only over the winter and spring is being masked by freeze thaw and latent energy effects. These results are important, particularly in northern locations where ground and snow cover may play an important role in creating a seasonal bias in GST reconstructions from borehole surveys.

Detecting urbanization effects on surface and subsurface thermal environment — A case study of Osaka

Tremendous efforts have been devoted to improve our understanding of the anthropogenic effects on the atmospheric temperature change. In comparison, little has been done in the study of the human impacts on the subsurface thermal environment. The objective of this study is to analyze surface air temperature records and borehole subsurface temperature records for a better understanding of the urban heat island effects across the ground surface. The annual surface air temperature time series from six meteorological stations and six deep borehole temperature profiles of high qualities show that Osaka has been undergoing excess warming since late 19th century. The mean warming rate in Osaka surface air temperature is about 2.0 °C/100a over the period from 1883 to 2006, at least half of which can be attributed to the urban heat island effects. However, this surface air temperature warming is not as strong as the ground warming recorded in the subsurface temperature profiles. The surface temperature anomaly from the Osaka meteorological record can only account for part of the temperature anomaly recorded in the borehole temperature profiles. Surface air temperature is conventionally measured around 1.5 m above the ground; whereas borehole temperatures are measured from rocks in the subsurface. Heat conduction in the subsurface is much less efficient than the heat convection of the air above the ground surface. Therefore, the anthropogenic thermal impacts on the subsurface can be more persistent and profound than the impacts on the atmosphere. This study suggests that the surface air temperature records alone might underestimate the full extent of urban heat island effects on the subsurface environment.

Recent climate variations in the subarctic inferred from three borehole temperature profiles in northern Quebec, Canada

Three temperature depth profiles recorded in permafrost in northern Quebec, Canada, were used to infer the ground surface temperature history (GSTH) of the region. The site is located in a barren rock desert on the Katinniq plateau at an elevation of 600 m, near the northern tip of the Ungava Peninsula. The boreholes were logged more than 3 yr after drilling was completed, insuring that the holes had returned to thermal equilibrium. Thermal conductivity measurements were made on core samples. Radiogenic heat production is small and can be neglected. The temperature depth profiles show marked deviations from steady state in the upper 200 m that are assumed to be caused by recent (< 300 yr) variations in ground surface temperature. The GSTHs obtained by inversion of the three temperature profiles consistently show warming by ∼ 2.5 K, but differ significantly in the details. One profile which is least affected by topographic effects and thermal conductivity changes was analyzed in great details with different inversion methods; direct methods were also used to verify how well the GSTH can be resolved by the data. The results show a marked warming (≈ 1.4 K) between the mid-1700s and 1940, followed by a cooling episode (≈ 0.4 K) which lasted 40–50 yr, followed by a sharp ≈ 1.7 K warming over the past 15 yr. The borehole temperature measurements suggest that most of this warming occurred over the past 15 yr. These results are in agreement with the available meteorological records and proxy data.

Computer simulation of borehole ground heat exchangers for geothermal heat pump systems

Computer simulation of borehole ground heat exchangers used in geothermal heat pump systems was conducted using three-dimensional implicit finite difference method with rectangular coordinate system. Each borehole was approximated by a square column circumscribed by the borehole radius. Borehole loading profile calculated numerically based on the prescribed borehole temperature profile under quasi-steady state conditions was used to determine the ground temperature and the borehole temperature profile. The two coupled solutions were solved iteratively at each time step. The simulated ground temperature was calibrated using a cylindrical source model by adjusting the grid spacing and adopting a load factor of 1.047 in the difference equation. With constant load applied to a single borehole, neither the borehole temperature nor the borehole loading was constant along the borehole. The ground temperature profiles were not similar at different distances from the borehole. This meant that a single finite difference scheme was not sufficient to estimate the performance of a borefield by superposition. The entire borefield should be discretized simultaneously. Comparison was made between the present method and the finite line source model with superposition. The discrepancies between the results from the two methods increased with the scale of borefield. The introduction of time schedule revealed a discrepancy between the load applied to the ground heat exchanger and that transferred from the borehole to the ground, which was usually assumed to be the same when using analytical models. Hence, in designing a large borefield, the present method should give more precise results in dynamic simulation.

地下温度に関する研究の現状と水文学的知見の貢献

Subsurface thermal regime is affected not only by thermal conduction but also by advection owing to groundwater flow. The effect of thermal advection is especially large in shallow sedimentary layer with active groundwater flow. Subsurface temperature distributions in some basins and plains in Japan are affected by regional groundwater flow systems. Both field observation and simulation results in the study area show that thermal transport conducted by regional groundwater flow system, driven by topographic effect, distorts subsurface temperature distributions. Moreover, subsurface temperature distributions in the Yonezawa Basin and Nagaoka Plain show effect of groundwater pumping. Subsurface temperatures in shallow layers in these areas have seasonal change due to groundwater pumping for snow melting in winter season.In recent years, subsurface temperature data have been used for reconstruction of ground surface temperature (GST) history as well. The effects of temperature change at the ground surface in the past have conducted into subsurface and have been recorded as transient temperature perturbations onto the background thermal field. Many studies on GST history in North America and Europe are inferred from inversion of borehole temperature profiles in log data.On the other hand, direct utilization of low-temperature geothermal resources, such as geothermal heat pump system, is important from the viewpoint of reduction of CO2 that causes global warming. Such systems are gradually increasing in Japan. To evaluate the influence of direct utilization onto subsurface temperature, an areal simulation, which numerical model was cut out from regional 3D groundwater flow and heat transport model of the Sendai plains, was conducted.Subsurface temperature observed with comparative ease includes important clues to understand global environment problems and/or hints for development of new energy to preserve global environment.It is hoped that hydrological knowledge contributes to understand many problems in various studies with subsurface temperature.

Five centuries of climate change in Australia: the view from underground

AbstractFifty‐seven borehole temperature profiles from across Australia are analysed to reconstruct a ground surface temperature history for the past five centuries. The five‐hundred‐year reconstruction is characterised by a temperature increase of approximately 0.5 K, with most of the warming occurring in the 19th and 20th centuries. The 17th century was the coolest interval of the five‐century reconstruction. Comparison of the geothermal reconstruction to the Australian annual surface air temperature time series in their period of overlap shows excellent agreement. The full geothermal reconstruction also agrees well with the low‐frequency component of dendroclimatic reconstructions from Tasmania and New Zealand. The warming of Australia over the past five centuries is only about half that experienced by the continents of the Northern Hemisphere in the same time interval. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Daily, seasonal, and annual relationships between air and subsurface temperatures

Inversions of borehole temperature profiles that reconstruct past ground surface temperature (GST) changes have been used to estimate historical changes in surface air temperature (SAT). Paleoclimatic interpretations of GST reconstructions are based on the assumption that GST and SAT changes are closely coupled over decades, centuries, and longer. This assumption has been the subject of some debate because of known differences between GST and SAT at timescales of hours, days, seasons, and years. We investigate GST and SAT relationships on daily, seasonal, and annual timescales to identify and characterize the principal meteorological changes that lead to short‐term differences between GST and SAT and consider the effects of those differences on coupling between the two temperatures over much longer time periods. We use observational SAT and subsurface data from Fargo, North Dakota; Prague, Czech Republic; Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware; and Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina. These records comprise intradaily observations that span parts of one or two decades. We compare subsurface temperature observations to calculations from a conductive subsurface model driven with daily SAT as the surface boundary condition and show that daily differences exist between observed and modeled subsurface temperatures. We also analyze year‐to‐year spectral decompositions of daily SAT and subsurface temperature time series and show that dissimilarities between mean annual GST and SAT are attributable to differences in annual amplitudes of the two temperature signals. The seasonal partitioning of these amplitude differences varies from year to year and from site to site, responding to variable evapotranspiration and cryogenic effects. Variable year‐to‐year differences between mean annual GST and SAT are closely estimated using results from a multivariate regression model that associates the partial influences of seasonal meteorological conditions with the attenuation of annual GST amplitudes.

Simulation and inversion of borehole temperature profiles in surrogate climates: Spatial distribution and surface coupling

A heat‐conduction forward model driven by ground surface temperature from three 1000‐year climate simulations with the state‐of‐the‐art ECHO‐g model has been used to simulate underground temperature perturbation profiles. An inversion approach has been applied to reconstruct ground surface temperature histories from the simulated profiles and to compare them with the climate model temperatures. Results support the skill of borehole inversion methods to retrieve long‐term temperature trends, and the robustness of using the present‐day borehole network for reconstructing SAT variations.

Reconstruction of the ground surface temperature history from the borehole temperature data in the southeastern part of the Republic of Korea

The changes in the temperature on the Earth's surface in the past have penetrated into the subsurface and have been recorded as transient temperature perturbations to the background thermal field. In this study, we reconstruct the ground surface temperature (GST) history of the last 300 years by analysing three borehole temperature profiles in Ulsan, the southeastern part of the Republic of Korea. The borehole temperature profiles show positive temperature anomalies caused by recent warming. The reconstructed GST history showed a cold period in the late 19th century and subsequent warming in the present time. After the cold event, the GST increased by 1.5 K up to 1980. The warming trend from 1900 to 1980 was 2.0 K/century. We compare the GST history with proxy temperature reconstructions obtained by other studies in Northeast Asia. The result suggests spatial variability of the climate in Northeast Asia.

Heat flow, heat transfer and lithosphere rheology in geothermal areas: Features and examples

Surface heat flow measurements over active geothermal systems indicate strongly positive thermal anomalies. Whereas in “normal“ geothermal settings, the surface heat flow is usually below 100–120 mW m − 2 , in active geothermal areas heat flow values as high as several watts per meter squared can be found. Systematic interpretation of heat flow patterns sheds light on heat transfer mechanisms at depth on different lateral, depth and time scales. Borehole temperature profiles in active geothermal areas show various signs of subsurface fluid movement, depending on position in the active system. The heat transfer regime is dominated by heat advection (mainly free convection). The onset of free convection depends on various factors, such as permeability, temperature gradient and fluid properties. The features of heat transfer are different for single or two-phase flow. Characteristic heat flow and heat transfer features in active geothermal systems are demonstrated by examples from Iceland, Italy, New Zealand and the USA. Two main factors affect the rheology of the lithosphere in active geothermal areas: steep temperature gradients and high pore fluid pressures. Combined with lithology and structure, these factors result in a rheological zonation with important consequences both for geodynamic processes and for the exploitation of geothermal energy. As a consequence of anomalously high temperature, the mechanical lithosphere is thin and its total strength can be reduced by almost one order of magnitude with respect to the average strength of continental lithosphere of comparable age and thickness. The top of the brittle/ductile transition is located within the upper crust at depths less than 10 km, acts as the root zone of listric normal faults in extensional environments and, at least in some cases, is visible on seismic reflection lines. These structural and rheological features are well illustrated in the Larderello geothermal field in Tuscany.

Tracer transport in the Greenland Ice Sheet: constraints on ice cores and glacial history

The climate history and dynamics of the Greenland Ice Sheet are studied using a coupled model of the depositional provenance and transport of glacier ice, allowing simultaneous prediction of the detailed isotopic stratigraphy of ice cores at all the major Greenland sites. Adopting a novel method for reconstructing the age–depth relationship, we greatly improve the accuracy of semi-Lagrangian tracer tracking schemes and can readily incorporate an age-dependent ice rheology. The larger aim of our study is to impose new constraints on the glacial history of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Leading sources of uncertainty in the climate and dynamic history are encapsulated in a small number of parameters: the temperature and elevation isotopic sensitivities, the glacial–interglacial precipitation contrast and the effective viscosity of ice in the flow law. Comparing predicted and observed ice layering at ice core sites, we establish plausible ranges for the key model parameters, identify climate and dynamic histories that are mutually consistent and recover the past depositional elevation of ice cores to ease interpretation of their climatic records. With the coupled three-dimensional model of ice dynamics and provenance transport we propose a method to place all the ice core records on a common time scale and use discrepancies to adjust the reconstructed climate history. Analysis of simulated GRIP ice layering and borehole temperature profiles confirms that the GRIP record is sensitive to the dynamic as well as to the climatic history, but not enough to strongly limit speculation on the state of the Greenland Ice Sheet during the Eemian. In contrast, our study indicates that the Dye 3 and Camp Century ice cores are extremely sensitive to ice dynamics and greatly constrain Eemian ice sheet reconstructions. We suggest that the maximum Eemian sea-level contribution of the ice sheet was in the range of 3.5–4.5 m.