Subsurface heat flow in an urban environment

Abstract

The subsurface temperature field beneath Winnipeg, Canada, is significantly different from that of the surrounding rural areas. Downward heat flow to depths as great as 130 m has been noted in some areas beneath the city and groundwater temperatures in a regional aquifer have risen by as much as 5°C in some areas. Numerical simulation of heat transport supports the conjecture that these temperature changes can be largely attributed to heat loss from buildings and the temperature at any given point is sensitive to the distance from and the age of any buildings. The effect is most noticable when buildings are closely spaced, which is typical of urban areas. Temperature measurements in areas more than a few hundred meters away from any heated structure were only a few tenths of a degree Celsius greater than those observed outside the city, suggesting that other reasons for increases in subsurface temperature, such as changes in surface cover or climate change, may be responsible for some of the some of the observed increase in temperatures. These sources of additional heat to the subsurface make it difficult to resolve information on past climates from temperatures measured in boreholes and monitoring wells. In some areas, the temperature increases may also have an impact on geothermal energy resources. This impact might be in the form of an increase in heat pump efficiency or in the case of the Winnipeg area, a decrease in the efficiency of direct use of groundwater for cooling.