ABSTRACT: Cover temperatures were measured at four MSW landfills located in
different climatic regions in North America: Michigan, New Mexico, Alaska, and
British Columbia. Temperature measurements were made on a weekly basis
throughout the depth of the cover profiles extending from the surface into the top
layers of the underlying wastes. Bias was produced in the surface temperature data
due to the combined effects of the time of day that weekly surface measurements were
taken and the high diurnal variations at the surface. Analytical methods were used to
obtain representative surface temperature functions for the covers from experimental
data. Mean cover surface temperatures were estimated by extrapolating near-surface
temperatures using exponential functions and by interpolating between air and below-
surface cover temperatures using weighting factors. Surface temperature amplitudes
were estimated by extrapolating near-surface amplitudes using conventional earth
temperature theory. Analysis of data indicated that mean cover surface temperatures
and cover temperature amplitudes can also be obtained directly from temperature
measurements at 150 to 300 mm depth, when such data are available. Surface
parameters obtained in this study can be used at other sites with similar climatic
conditions for thermal analysis of cover systems.