Effect of Horizontal Heat and Fluid Flow on the Vertical Temperature Distribution in a Semiconfining Layer

By including the constant flow of heat and fluid in the horizontal direction, we develop an analytical solution for the vertical temperature distribution within the semiconfining layer of a typical aquifer system. The solution is an extension of the previous one‐dimensional theory by Bredehoeft and Papadopulos [1965]. It provides a quantitative tool for analyzing the uncertainty of the horizontal heat and fluid flow. The analytical results demonstrate that horizontal flow of heat and fluid, if at values much smaller than those of the vertical, has a negligible effect on the vertical temperature distribution but becomes significant when it is comparable to the vertical.