Anthropogenic effects on subsurface temperature in Bangkok

Abstract

Subsurface temperatures in Bangkok, where population and density increase rapidly, were analyzed to evaluate the effects of surface warming due to urbanization. The magnitude of surface warming evaluated from subsurface temperature in Bangkok was 1.7°C which agreed with meteorological data during the last 50 years. The depth apart from steady thermal gradient, which shows an indicator of the magnitude of surface warming due to additional heat from urbanization, was deeper at the center of the city than in the suburb areas of Bangkok. In order to separate surface warming effects into global warming effect and urbanization effect, analyses of subsurface temperature have been done depending on the distance from the city center. The results show that the expansion of urbanization in Bangkok reaches up to 80 km from the city center.