Premium
Vertical temperature structure in a cave environment
Author(s) -
Smithson P. A.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/gea.3340080305
Subject(s) - cave , air temperature , outflow , atmospheric sciences , geology , isothermal process , environmental science , meteorology , geography , archaeology , physics , thermodynamics
Investigations have been made into the vertical temperature gradients in Poole's Cavern, Derbyshire, U. K. Temperatures were recorded onto a data logger every 10 minutes at 10 sites in the cave and sampled for eight monthly periods during 1989/90. It was found that, in summer, cave temperatures were almost isothermal with a strong outflow of cool air at the cave entrance. In winter, cold air flowed into the cave whenever outside temperatures fell below those of the cave, to produce a strong inversion of temperature. Highest temperatures were found in the highest parts of the main chamber. When winds forced air into the cave entrance, the temperature gradient depended upon the relative temperature differences between outside and inside. Cluster analysis demonstrated distinct areas of similar temperature variation. In summer there were no real differences, while in winter the entrance tunnel and lower parts of the cave were markedly different from the higher parts. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.