Name: Andy
Status: Other
Grade: Other
Location: N/A
Country: United States
Date: N/A
Question:
Geology proves that as we dig deep into the ground, the
temperature rises. That being so we should expect sea water at 4 or
5 miles deep down to be boiling. But that is not happening. Why?
Replies:
It is because of the way heat is transferred between the interior of the
earth and the surface, and the way heat is transferred between the
different depths of the ocean. In Earth's crust, heat must diffuse
through solid rock. In the oceans, cold, dense water sinks and warm
water rises. Can you see how these different mechanisms will produce
different temperature profiles in Earth's solid crust and its liquid
oceans?
Richard Barrans, Ph.D., M.Ed.
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Wyoming
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