Geographia Polonica (1988) vol. 53
Dynamics of shallow groundwater temperature in the Vistula abandoned valley, the Płock Basin
Geographia Polonica (1988) vol. 53, pp. 115-128 | 
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Abstract
The temperature of shallow groundwater is markedly affected by air temperature,the height of water table and its changes throughout the year, thermal conductivity andground moisture in the zone of aeration, slope exposure and terrain cover, i.e. land usepatterns and built-up areas. Thus, the problem is complex but little attention has beendevoted to it in the hydrological study.The textbooks of hydrogeology contain the basic information concerning factorswhich affect groundwater temperature and the depth of diurnal, seasonal and annualtemperature fluctaution zones (Marchacz 1960; Pazdro 1964). These problems alsodominate the latest textbook of groundwater hydrology (Kriz 1983). The problems ofgroundwater temperature dynamics fall outside their scope.Few detailed studies on the thermal properties of shallow groundwater areconcerned with selected aspects of the problem. An example concerns a fewcharacteristic wells where Mikulski (1963) pointed out the dependence of groundwatertemperature on the thickness and geological structure of the zone of aeration.Skibniewska (1963, 1964), Nawrocka and Sadowska (1964) dealt with groundwatertemperature fluctuations at different depths in relation to air temperature in Poland'sterritory. Dynowski (1968) has established that groundwater temperature depends onthermal conductivity of the water-bearing and overlying rocks. Relationships betweenair temperature and water temperature in two wells differing in geological structurewere considered by Gutry-Korycka (1969). She suggests that shallow groundwatertemperature dynamics is largely dependent on air temperature, thermal conductivity ofthe ground in the zone of aeration, annual fluctuations of depths to water andgroundwater character, i.e. chemical composition.Publications pertinent to the influence of slope exposure and land use patterns, i.e.terrain cover, on groundwater temperature have been lacking so far in the Polishscientific literature. One of the objectives of the present study is to assess the significanceof these factators.
, Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Kopernika 19, 87-100 Toruń, Poland