Effect of a Uniform Overburden on the Passage of a Thermal Wave and the Temperatures in the Undelying Rock

Summary The system is a uniform overburden of thickness h , thermal The system considered k 1 , and diffusivity α 1 overlying a semi‐infinite substratum (conductivity K 2 , diffusivity α 2 ). It is shown that if the temperature of the surface varies with time t as T 0 sin ωt , the temperatures v 1 , v 2 in the overburden and the substratum respectively are given by:The apparently simple boundary value problem has thus a surprisingly involved solution. The solution is of considerable importance in shallow geothermal measurements in, for example, moraine‐covered areas such as the Swedish Precambrian or in areas of uniform in situ weathering.