Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Large regional variability of recent climatic change driven sub-surface temperature changes as derived from temperature logs-central Canada example

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
International Journal of Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The analysis of the warming/cooling patterns from inversion of 94 well temperature logs for the study area of Central Canada shows very high variability (−1 to 3 °C). Analysis of the warming/cooling patterns in last 2–3 centuries indicates that warming has not affected the whole study area and some surface areas have significantly cooled. Regions of large cooling as well as regions of large warming are apparent. Largest cooling is observed in the NE part of the study area while large warming is observed in the area south–east of it in a ridge running NW–SE slightly north of Great Lakes. These patterns go against patterns of land development which is an unlikely factor forcing these regional scale changes derived mainly from the well sites chosen to be in remote and forested areas.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Archambault S, Bergeron YA (1992) 802 year tree ring chronology from Quebec boreal forest. Can J For Res 22:674–682

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker DG, Ruschy DL (1993) The recent warming in eastern Minnesota shown by ground temperatures. Geophys Res Lett 20:371–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beck AE, Shen PY, Beltrami H, Mareshal J-C, Šafanda J, Sebagenzi MN, Vasseur G, Wang K (1992) A comparison of five different analyses in the interpretation of five borehole temperature data sets. Global Planet Change 98:101–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackwell DD, Beardsmore GR, Nishimori RK, McMullen RJ Jr (1999) High-resolution temperature logs in a petroleum setting: examples and applications. In: Förster A, Merriam DF (eds) Geothermcs in basin analysis. Springer, New York, pp 1–34

  • Bodri L, Cermak V (2007) Borehole climatology. Elsevier, Amsterdam, p 335. ISBN 978-0-08045320-0

    Google Scholar 

  • Briffa KR, Osborn TJ, Schweingruber FH, Harris IC, Jones PD, Shiyatov SG, Vaganov EA (2001) Low-frequency temperature variations from a northern tree ring density network. J Geophy Res 106 (D3):2929–2941

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cermak V (1971) Underground temperature and inferred climatic temperature of the past milleium. Paleogr Paleoecclim Paleoecol 10:1–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cermak V, Bodri L, Safanda J (1992) Recent climate change recorded in the underground: evidence from Cuba. Paleogeogr Paleoclim Paleoecol (Global and Planet Change) 98:219–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cermak V, Safanda J, Kresl M, Dedecek P, Bodri L (2000) Recent climate warming: surface air temperature series and geothermal evidence. Studia Geoph et geod 44:430–441

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demezhko DY, Shchapov VA (2001) 80,000 years ground surface temperature history inferred from the temperature–depth log measured in the superdeep hole SG-4 (the Urals, Russia). Global Planet Change 29:219–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deming D (1995) Climatic warming in North America: analysis of borehole temperatures. Science 268:1576–1577

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Environment Canada (1992) The state of Canada’s climate: Temperature change in Canada 1895–1991, SOE (State of Environment) Report 92–2

  • Environment Canada (1995) The state of Canada’s climate: Monitoring variability and change, SOE (A State of Environment) Report No. 95, p 52

  • Eppelbaum LV, Kutasov I, Barak G (2006) Ground surface temperature histories inferred from 15 boreholes temperature profiles: comparison of two approaches. Earth Sci Res J 10(1):25–34

    Google Scholar 

  • González-Rouco J F, Beltrami H, Zorita E, Stevens M B (2009) Borehole climatology: a discussion based on contributions from climate modeling. Clim Past 5:97–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gornostaeva AA, Demezhko D Yu (2013) Recovery from the little ice age: geothermal evidence. Geogr Environ Sustain 6:29–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris RN Chapman DS (2002) Mid-latitude (30°N–60°N) climatic warming inferred by combining borehole temperatures with surface air temperatures. Geophys Res Let 29:16

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang S (2006) Land warming as part of global warming. Eos 87, No. 44, 31 October 2006

  • Huang S, Pollack HN (1998) Global borehole temperature database for climate reconstruction (IGBP Pages/World Data Center—A for Paleoclimatology Data Contribution Series No. 1998–044, NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder, Colorado.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang S, Pollack HN, Shen P-Y (2000) Temperature trends over the past five centuries reconstructed from borehole temperatures. Nature 403:756–758

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change) (2001) Climate change 2001, the scientific basis, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p 98

    Google Scholar 

  • Jessop AM (1990a) Geothermal evidence of climatic change. Eos 71 (15):390–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jessop AM (1990b) Thermal geophysics, Elsevier, Amsterdam, p 306

    Google Scholar 

  • Lachenbruch AH, Marshall BV (1986) Changing climate: geothermal evidence from permafrost in Alaska. Science 234:689–696

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lachenbruch AH, Cladouhos TT, Saltus RW (1988) Permafrost temperature and the changing climate. In: 5th Int. Permafrost Conf. Proc. Permafrost 3 Tapir Publishers, Trondheim, pp 9–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis T (1998) The effect of deforestation on ground surface temperatures. Glob. Planet. Change 18:1–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis TJ, Skinner WR (2003) Inferring Climate change from underground temperatures: apparent climatic stability and apparent climatic warming. Earth Interractions 7(9):9

    Google Scholar 

  • Majorowicz JA (1993) Climate change inferred from analysis of borehole temperatures: first results from Alberta basin, PAGEOPH, Canada 140:655–666.

    Google Scholar 

  • Majorowicz JA, Skinner WR (1997a) Anomalous ground warming versus surface air warming in the Canadian Prairie provinces. Clim Change 35:485–500

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Majorowicz J, Skinner W (1997b), Potential causes of differences between ground and air surface temperature warming across different ecozones in Alberta, Canada. Glob Planet Change 15:79–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Majorowicz J, Šafanda J, Skinner W (2002) East to west retardation in the onset of the recent warming across Canada inferred from inversions of temperature logs. J Geophys Res 107(B10):2227. doi:10.1029/2001JB000519

  • Majorowicz JA, Grasby SE, Ferguson G, Safanda J, Skinner W (2006) Climate of the Past: Paleoclimatic reconstructions in western Canada from borehole temperature logs: surface air temperature forcing and groundwater flow. Clim Past 2:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Majorowicz JA, Grasby S, Skinner W (2009) Estimation of shallow geothermal energy resource in Canada–heat gain and heat sink. Nat Resour Res 18(2):95–108. doi:10.1007/s11053-009-9090-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mareschal JC, Beltrami H (1992) Evidence for recent warming from perturbed geothermal gradients: Examples from eastern Canada. Clim Dyn 6:135–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pollack HN, Shaopeng Huang (2000) Climate reconstruction from subsurface temperatures. Annu Rev Earth Planet Sci 28:339–365

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pollack HN, Shen P-Y, Huang S (1996) Inference of ground surface temperature history from subsurface temperature data: interpreting ensembles of borehole logs. Pageoph 147:537–550

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pollack HN, Huang S, Shen P-Y (2000) Climate change record in subsurface temperatures:a global persective. Science 282:279–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam SN, Chapman DS (1996) A geothermal climate change observatory: first year results from Emigrant Pass in Northwest Utah. J Geophys Res 101:21877–21890

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Šafanda J, Correia A, Majorowicz JA, Rajver D (2003) Inverse method for reconstruction of ground surface temperature history from borehole temperatures. In: Yamano M, Nagao T, Sweda T (eds) Geothermal/dendrochronological paleoclimate reconstruction across eastern margin of Eurasia. Proceedings 2002 International Matsuyama Conference, Matsuyama, Japan, pp 163–178

  • Schmidt WL, Gosnold WD, Enz JW (2001) A decade of air-ground temperature exchange from Fargo, North Dakota. Global Planet Change 29:311–325

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen PY, Beck AE (1991) Least squares inversion of borehole temperature measurements in functional space. J Geophys Res 96:19965–19979

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen PY, Beck AE (1992) Paleoclimate change and heat flow density inferred from temperature data in the Superior Province of the Canadian Shield. Global Planet Change 6:143–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen PY, Pollack HN, Huang S, Wang K (1995) Effects of subsurface heterogeneity on the inference of climate change from borehole temperature data: Model studies and field examples from Canada. J Geophys Res 100(B4):6383–6396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skinner WR, Majorowicz JA (1999) Regional climatic warming and associated twentieth century land-cover changes in north-western North America. Clim Res 12:39–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smerdon JE, Pollack HN, Cermak V, Enz JW, Kresl M, Safanda J, Wehmiller JF (2006) Daily, seasonal, and annual relationships between air and subsurface temperatures. J Geophy Res Atmos 111:D07101. doi:10.1029/2004JD005578

  • Wang K (1992) Estimation of the ground surface temperatures from borehole temperature data. J Geophys Res 97:2095–2106

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Drs Dmitri Dmezhko and Steve Grasby for their very helpfull comments and edits to a previous version of our paper. We would like to thank Walter Skinner for help with SAT data. J.M. would like to acknowledge Environment Canada funding.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jacek Majorowicz.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Majorowicz, J., Šafanda, J. Large regional variability of recent climatic change driven sub-surface temperature changes as derived from temperature logs-central Canada example. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 107, 123–135 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-017-1453-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-017-1453-1

Keywords

Navigation