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Soil Temperature Estimation by a Numerical Method
Author(s) -
Hanks R. J.,
Austin D. D.,
Ondrechen W. T.
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1971.03615995003500050015x
Subject(s) - thermal diffusivity , soil science , thermal , computation , function (biology) , constant (computer programming) , environmental science , soil water , soil thermal properties , numerical analysis , materials science , mineralogy , geology , mathematics , physics , thermodynamics , algorithm , field capacity , computer science , mathematical analysis , evolutionary biology , biology , programming language
A numerical method for computing soil temperature as a function of time and depth was devised. The method allows for variable soil properties as a function of depth and requires measurement of soil temperature at or near the soil surface. Computed and measured soil temperatures agreed within 1.0C when actual soil thermal properties were used for the computation. Computed and measured soil temperatures agreed within 1.5C when soil thermal diffusivity was assumed constant at 0.20 cm 2 min ‐1 . Actual values varied with depth from 0.21 to 0.29. Where the thermal diffusivity was assumed uniform at 0.45 cm 2 min ‐1 , temperature errors grew from 1.0–1.7C after 3 days to 1.7–3.1C after 6 days.