SES-609 ELEMENTS OF SOIL PHYSICS 3(3-0)

Thermal Concepts

Importance of soil temperature

Temperature governs evaporation and aeration as well as the types and rates of chemical reactions
that take place in soil. Soil temperature strongly influences biological processes, such as seed
germination, seedling emergence and growth, root development, and microbial activity.

Heat flow processes

Heat transfer through a soil profile essentially represents movement of heat from the soil surface
to the deeper layers. Heat transfer normally occurs from warmer soil layers to the cooler soil layers.
During summer, heat transfer is from upper soil layers to deeper soil layers, and during winter, it
is usually from deeper soil layers to upper soil layers. Heat transfer changes direction during day
and night, and depending on the air or surface soil temperature, the heat transfer can be downward
during the day and upward during the night.

Heat transfer continues until thermal equilibrium is reached. Heat transfer through the soil is
dependent on the heat capacity and heat conductivity of different soil layers. Since both capacity
and conductivity of soil are dependent on the soil water content, heat transfer is strongly influenced
by soil water content. In addition, it is influenced by the soil compaction, presence of snow, type
of vegetation, and topography.

Heat transfer through the soil generally increases with increasing soil water content because water
is a good conductor of heat. Heat transfer through dry soil is slow and less because conductivity
of soil air is low.
In dry soil, heat transfer predominantly takes place through conduction between soil particles in
contact with each other. Heat transfer usually increases with increasing soil bulk density or
compaction. Knowledge of heat transfer processes is important for regulating soil temperature.

Modes of heat transfer

There are three principal modes of energy transfer:

1. Radiation
2. Convection
3. Conduction.

1. Radiation: refers to the emission of energy in the form of electromagnetic waves from all bodies
above 0 K. transferred through vacuum because they do not require a carrier. For example, heating
water and cooking food in a solar cooker. Thermal energy travels as discrete photons, also known
as quanta.

Stefan–Boltzmann law
According to the Stefan–Boltzmann law, the total energy emitted by a body, J t, integrated over all
wavelengths, is proportional to the fourth power of the absolute temperature T of the body’s
surface.

Where, A is the cross-sectional area of the body (m2 ), T is the absolute temperature σ is the Stefan–
Boltzmann constant, also known as Stefan’s constant (5.675 × 10-8W/m2 /K4; 5.675 × 10-8J/m2
/s/k4 ; 5.675 × 10-5 erg/cm2 /s/K4 ). According to the Stefan–Boltzmann law, the total energy
radiated by a blackbody per unit surface area in unit time is proportional to the fourth power of the
temperature (K).

The Stefan–Boltzmann constant is essentially a constant of proportionality in the Stefan–Boltmann

law. If the energy transfer takes place through a medium with an emissivity coefficient of ε, the
Stefan– Boltzmann law can be written as:

Stefan–Boltzmann law

Emissivity coefficient is defined as the ratio of radiant energy emitted by soil and maximum
amount of radiant energy emitted (εs/εb). A blackbody transmits maximum energy and is a perfect
emitter. For a perfect emitter, emissivity coefficient is equal to one. Soils generally emit much less
radiant energy. The emissivity coefficient varies as a function of the wavelength of radiation and
serves as an indicator of the efficiency of natural resources. The temperature of the soil or a body
including the sun (T in K) is inversely proportional to the maximum radiation intensity (λm). This
relationship is also known as Wien’s law and is represented as follows

Example 1.1

Calculate the maximum radiation intensity for a soil temperature of 300 K and for the sun at the
temperature of 6000 K.

Solution

Conduction

The second mode of energy transfer, is the propagation of heat within a body by internal molecular
motion. Because temperature is an expression of the kinetic energy of a body’s molecules, the
existence of a temperature difference within a body will normally cause the transfer of kinetic
energy by the collisions of rapidly moving molecules from the warmer region of the body to their
neighbors in the colder region.

2 ND Definition:

Conduction is the process of heat transfer in which transfer of heat from one molecule to another
or within a substance or from one substance to another occurs due to the direct contact of atoms
or molecules. Conduction of heat through soil also takes place through soil particles that are in
contact with each other. The movement of heat is always from warmer areas to cooler areas.
The process of heat conduction is thus analogous to diffusion; and in the same way that diffusion
tends in time to equilibrate a mixture’s composition throughout, heat conduction tends to
equilibrate a body’s internal temperature.

Conduction of heat in soil

The conduction of heat in solids was analyzed as long ago as 1822 by Fourier, whose name is
given to the linear equation that has been used ever since to describe heat conduction. This equation
is mathematically analogous to the diffusion equation (Fick’s law) as well as to Ohm’s law for the
conduction of electricity and Darcy’s law for water flow in soil.

Fourier’s Law

The first law of heat conduction, known as Fourier’s law, states that the flux of heat in a
homogeneous body is in the direction of, and proportional to, the temperature gradient

Here qh is the thermal flux (i.e., the amount of heat conducted across a unit cross-sectional area in
unit time), κ (Greek letter kappa) is thermal conductivity, and ∇T is the spatial gradient of
temperature T. In one-dimensional form,this law is written as

Here dT/dx is the temperature gradient in any direction, designated x, and dT/dz is, specifically,
the gradient in the vertical direction representing soil depth (z = 0 being the soil surface). The
subscripts attached to the thermal conductivity term are meant to account for the possibility that
this parameter may have different values in different directions (i.e., that it may be non-isotropic).

The negative sign in these equations is due to the fact that heat flows from a higher to a lower
temperature (i.e., in the direction of, and in proportion to, a negative temperature gradient).

Thermal conductivity and Diffusivity

The thermal conductivity is also known as the proportionality constant, similar to the saturated
hydraulic conductivity in Darcy’s law.
Thermal conductivity is defined as the amount of heat transferred through a unit surface area per
unit time under a unit temperature gradient.

Kt is dependent on different soil fractions, such as solid, air, and water. It is also dependent on the
interfacial contact between solids and between solid and liquid as well as on the size and
arrangement of soil solids. Increase in porosity or air content of soil decreases thermal
conductivity, while increases in soil compaction (or bulk density) improve thermal contact between
solids and thus increase Kt. Similarly, increasing soil water content increases thermal conductivity
of soil. Thermal conductivity can vary from 1 to 100 J/m/ s/K for solids, from 0.01 to 1.0 J/m/s/K
for liquids, and from 0.001 to J/m/s/K for gases.

Convection

Convection is the dominant process during heat transfer due to the movement of fluids.

Transmission of heat energy from one place to another in the soil takes place by the physical
displacement of fluids, such as air or water within the pores. In liquids and gases, convection is
the most dominant form of heat transfer. Often heat transfer is the combination of the processes of
conduction (heat diffusion) and convection (bulk fluid movement). The transfer of heat from
moving fluid to solids and vice versa involves diffusion as well as fluid movement; thus, the
convection process is a combination of both.

Examples: Ocean currents and atmospheric winds.

An example more pertinent to soil physics would be the infiltration of warm wastewater into an
initially cold soil.

The convection phenomenon is probably more important in the atmosphere, where there is a
consistent circulation of warm and cold air and heat exchange. In soils, the heat convection
phenomenon is less important in general; however, during infiltration and redistribution of water
in the soil profile, which is cooler than the incoming water, convectional heat energy transport
becomes important.

Latent heat transfer

It is composite phenomenon.A prime example is the process of distillation, which includes the
heat-absorbing stage of evaporation, followed by the convective or diffusive movement of the
vapor, and ending with the heat-releasing stage of condensation. A similar catenary process can
also occur in transition back and forth from ice to liquid water in soils subject to freezing and
thawing.

Heat capacity (C)

Heat capacity of the soil, earlier defined as the heat energy required to change the temperature of
soil by 1°, can be expressed as volumetric or gravimetric heat capacity. The relationships between
gravimetric and volumetric heat capacities are as follows:

where Cv is the volumetric heat capacity of soil (J/m3 /K)

Cg is the gravimetric heat capacity of soil (J/kg/K)
ρb is the dry soil bulk density (kg/m )
ρ′ b is the wet soil bulk density (kg/m3 )
θ is the soil water content (m3 /m3 )
Volumetric Heat Capacity (C )
v
A soil’s volumetric heat capacity C is defined as the change of a unit volume’s heat content per
unit change in temperature.
It is expressed as calories per cubic centimeter per degree or joules per cubic meter per degree.
Thus, C depends on the composition of the soil’s solid phase (mineral and organic components),
on bulk density, and on soil wetness.

Where, f is the volume fraction of each component,

 i is the number of components,
 s is solid
 w is water
 a is air
 m is mineral phase
 is organic matter phase.
Densities and vol. Heat capacities of soil constituents (at 10 ◦C )and of Ice (0◦C)

References

1. Brady, N.C. and R.R. Weil. 2002. The nature and properties of soils. 13th ed., Prentice-Hall,
Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA.
2. Singer, M.J. and D.N. Munns. 2002. Soils -- An introduction. 5th ed. Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA.
3. Bashir, E. and R. Bantel. 1996. Soil science. National Book Foundation, Islamabad.
4. Jury, W.A. and R. Horton. 2004. Soil physics 6th ed. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New Jersey,
USA.
5. Hillel, D. 1998. Environmental soil physics. Academic Press, Orlando, FL, USA.
6. Saha, A. K.2004. Textbook of soil physics. Kalyani Publishers, Ludhiana, India.