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Thermal Storage and Transport Properties of Rocks, I: Heat Capacity and Latent Heat

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Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Synonyms

Specific heat capacity; Thermal capacity; Volumetric heat capacity

Definition

Specific heat capacity c. Physical property defining the amount of sensible heat that can be stored in or extracted from a unit mass of rock per unit temperature increase or decrease, respectively. Isobaric and isochoric specific heat capacities are defined at constant pressure and volume, respectively; dimension: J kg−1 K−1.

Thermal capacity (also: volumetric heat capacity) ρ c. The product of isobaric specific heat capacity and density. Physical property defining the amount of sensible heat that can be stored in or extracted from a unit volume of rock per unit temperature increase or decrease, respectively; dimension: J m−3 K−1.

Thermal storage properties

The thermal regime of the Earth is defined by its heat sources and sinks, the heat storage and transport processes, and their corresponding physical properties. The storage properties are discussed below. The transport properties, thermal...

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Acknowledgments

This contribution benefitted from insightful comments by an anonymous reviewer and editorial help by Dr. Sukanta Roy, Hyderabad.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Applied Geophysics and Geothermal Energy, E.ON Energy Research Center, RWTH Aachen University, Mathieustr.6, D-52074, Aachen, Germany

    Christoph Clauser

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  1. Christoph Clauser
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Correspondence to Christoph Clauser .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Geophysical Research Institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Hyderabad, India

    Harsh K. Gupta

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Clauser, C. (2011). Thermal Storage and Transport Properties of Rocks, I: Heat Capacity and Latent Heat. In: Gupta, H.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8702-7_238

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