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Environmental and Engineering Geoscience

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Vadose Zone Temperature Measurements at a Site in the Northern Albuquerque Basin Indicate Ground-Surface Warming due to Urbanization

¹ New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801

The present study presents temperature measurements taken across the vadose zone at three piezometer-nest sites in the Albuquerque Basin. A new sensor having a relatively fast response time in air allows temperatures to be measured in the vadose zone every meter going down a piezometer at 2 m/min. This technique yields good depth resolution of temperature data. The resulting temperature–depth profile at one of the sites in the Albuquerque Basin (Lincoln Middle School) is noticeably curved, indicating a surface temperature change or the presence of fluid movement. The best statistical fit to the data is the expression representing a single temperature step of 3.7–3.8°C occurring 20 years before the piezometer logging (the suggested temperature increase occurred 1984–1985). From aerial photos it is noted that significant development occurred near and around the piezometer site between 1982 and 1986. During this interval natural vegetation was scraped off the ground, nearby roads were constructed and paved with asphalt, and houses were built across the two streets passing near the piezometer nest. The large amount of suggested ground-surface warming appears to directly correlate with urbanization and development.

Key Words: Environmental Geophysics • Ground-Surface Temperature Warming