I knew you'd notice that...

Posted by Dr. Phil on April 04, 2002 at 10:13:13:

In Reply to: thanks for sharing, great data, but... posted by Dean Alessandrini on April 04, 2002 at 07:39:15:

Yes, I too was somewhat dissapointed that I couldn't get the readings for mid winter, or even just a bit more precise than just "spring" or "fall". Precise dates would have been nice. Nevertheless, it does give a very good idea of how stable the temperature is down there.

As for where the heat comes from, well that's an easy one: the ground itself. After a certain depth, it gets pretty stable underground, due to plain old geothermal heat. The deeper down you go, the warmer it gets, but of course that depends on where you stand on the planet. In some very deep mine shafts (like 10,000 feet) in some countries it can get as hot as 130F, and I'm not even talking about Iceland here. As for Florida's case, that translates into around 72F year round at aquifer level, which explains why water coming up from most West Coast springs is at exactly that temp, much to the delight of the local manatee population in the dead of winter.

So that's why I think that the deepest part of the burrows can't possibly go much farther below the 70F mark, simply because the base temp at that depth is close to that, even if a bit of cold air might trickle down the tortoise burrow shaft overnight.

Dr. Phil

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: Yes, I too was somewhat dissapointed that I couldn't get the readings for mid winter, or even just a bit more precise than just "spring" or "fall". Precise dates would have been nice. Nevertheless, it does give a very good idea of how stable the temperature is down there. : As for where the heat comes from, well that's an easy one: the ground itself. After a certain depth, it gets pretty stable underground, due to plain old geothermal heat. The deeper down you go, the warmer it gets, but of course that depends on where you stand on the planet. In some very deep mine shafts (like 10,000 feet) in some countries it can get as hot as 130F, and I'm not even talking about Iceland here. As for Florida's case, that translates into around 72F year round at aquifer level, which explains why water coming up from most West Coast springs is at exactly that temp, much to the delight of the local manatee population in the dead of winter. : : So that's why I think that the deepest part of the burrows can't possibly go much farther below the 70F mark, simply because the base temp at that depth is close to that, even if a bit of cold air might trickle down the tortoise burrow shaft overnight. : Dr. Phil :

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