Heat transport in groundwater systems in Japan

Abstract

Japanese groundwater hydrologists have played a leading role in thermal studies of groundwater systems. Pioneering work by Suzuki (1960) led to a method for analyzing temperature profiles to estimate vertical groundwater flux. Sakura (1978) introduced the quantitative analysis of temperature profiles to Japanese researchers and also introduced to Japan the application of an analytical solution of heat transport in two dimensions (Sakura 1993). Japanese hydrogeologists are leaders internationally in analyzing groundwater temperatures affected by surface warming caused by urbanization, including a pioneering study by Taniguchi et al. (1999a). Other contributions include innovative applications of methods for analyzing temperature profiles (e.g., to estimate the depth to the freshwater/saltwater interface in a coastal aquifer) and the development and application of three-dimensional numerical models of coupled groundwater flow and heat transport.