Refer to the scenario above. Assuming a temperature of 20°C at the ground surface, what is the temperature at a depth of 2 miles?

Scenario: In the pursuit of scientific knowledge, you decide to bore a hole into the crust to see how the temperature changes. You start your borehole in Davenport, Iowa, where the geothermal gradient is 20°C/km.
What will be an ideal response?


Answer: 2 miles ∗ 1.609 = 3.2 km
3.2 km ∗ 20°C/km = 64°C

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

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