Airborne and Field Temperature Surveys Compared at Long Valley KGRA, California

Abstract

An airborne predawn radiometric temperature survey was flown over the Long Valley KGRA. Radiometric temperatures were recorded at 1012 un and 4.5-5.5 ums. They were corrected to obtain true land surface temperatures in agreement with field data. After accounting for thermal effects from surface features, there remained a thermal anomaly. The anomalous zone encompassed 2km2. It was a dry land area with a predawn surface temperature which averaged 1.4+/-0.3°C warmer than ambient. This area coincided with a thermal discharge ozone where deep temperature gradients were 5-30 times normal. The predawn radiometric survey clarified and supplemented conclusions drawn from 6-30m deep field survey. Heat from hydrothermal discharge was stored in a shallow aquifer and conduct5ed to the surface.