Abstract
A method to estimate heat flow in steaming ground is presented by means of measurements of surface temperatures and near-surface underground temperatures, based on equations of heat and mass transfer in the near-surface underground. Total heat flow Q, which includes the heat transferred by conduction and convection, is expressed as follows:Q=H(To-Tair)(i(T∞)-cWTair)/cg(T∞-To)where H is a coefficient of surface heat transfer, To surface temperature, Tair air temperature, Tw boiling point of water, cg specific heat of steam, cw specific heat of water and i(T∞) enthalpy of steam at temperature T∞. This method was applied to the Showa-shinzen geothermal area, and total heat discharge was estimated at 2.5×107cal/sec which is nearly equal to the value obtained by the heat balance method developed by Sekioka and Yuhara (1974).
