Introduction
Past ground temperatures can be estimated by analyzing perturbations to the quasi-steady state equilibrium geothermal profile in the uppermost kilometer of the Earth’s crust. In fact, it has been customary to eliminate the effects of known climatic events (mainly the last glacial termination) from the temperature profiles, in order to determine the internal heat output, an important quantity for the understanding of our planet’s dynamics. Widespread concern about global warming and temperature changes during the last century prompted many in the geothermal community to reexamine the data for evidence of more recent temperature changes. Not surprisingly, we are finding coherent and systematic temperature perturbation patterns. What had previously been considered noise is now appearing to be a rich signal of local and regional climate change.
Consider the Earth’s crust in thermal equilibrium. A temperature-depth profile starts at the surface at the mean-annual ground...
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Beltrami, H., Nitoiu, D. (2009). Borehole Climatology. In: Gornitz, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4411-3_27
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