How far down does the ground freeze?
Post categories: derek brockway,Ìýreptiles,Ìýweather
| 13:57 UK time, Tuesday, 1 February 2011
I had a very interesting question from my News Editor yesterday.
She wanted to know how far down the ground freezes?
I didn't ask why she wanted to know, but thought I'd better find out and do some research to keep my boss happy!
Basically, it depends on a few things:
- How cold the air temperature gets
- How long the air temperature stays below freezing
- Whether there is snow cover (and how deep it is)
Long cold spells with no snow cover can cause the ground to freeze to a few feet whereas if there's persistent snow cover, the ground may only freeze to a few inches deep.
In the Arctic the ground may be permanently frozen for thousands of feet!
I later discovered that the reason my editor wanted to know was because she was concerned about her tortoises who are currently hibernating three feet under the ground in the garden.
I reassured here that, although it's been very cold and frosty recently (with some low night-time temperatures), the ground is probably not frozen more than an inch or so deep (if at all), because temperatures during the day have risen above freezing thanks to some sunshine.
So hopefully her tortoises, who slept through the coldest December for at least 100 years, will emerge from their sleep, healthy and happy in the spring.
Derek
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