Temperature regime of the upper layers of the earth crust and USSR geotemperature maps

The experimental and analytical data on the temperature regime of groundwaters and water-bearing rocks indicate the presence of constant temperature variations in time for periods of days to 200 million of years. Since convective heat exchange is prevalent in the transfer of surface temperature, variations (especially short-period variations, daily and annual) at depth on aquifers down to almost the whole sedimentary earth mantle, are under the influence of climatic zonation. When compiling geoisothermal maps for the upper layers of the earth crust to depths about twice the erosion depth, the space-time regularities of temperature variation determined largely by the geographical latitude and elevation of the point under investigation must be taken into account. Some geoisothermal maps for different depths, which also consider the relief, have been compiled using the method suggested.