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A Simple Method to Evaluate Daily Positive Soil Heat Flux¹

ABSTRACT

Daily positive heat flow into soil is an important component in the energy balance of a soil surface. If surface soil heat flux is assumed to vary diurnally as a sinusoidal function of time, with frequency (), the daily positive soil heat flux density can be estimated from 2 T_o (C/)^0.5 where T_o is the amplitude of the diurnal surface temperature wave, the thermal conductivity, and C the volumetric heat capacity of the soil. This method of estimation requires the measurement of surface soil temperature at about sunrise and at about mid-day to determine T_o. Also, water content and some soil physical properties need to be known in order to evaluate and C. Experimental results obtained with the method were found to be in reasonable good agreement with direct measurements from heat flux plates.

¹ Contribution from the Arizona Agric. Exp. Stn., Tucson, AZ 85721. Journal Paper no. 3674.

² Graduate Student; Visiting Professor from Ben Gurion University, Inst. for Desert Research, Israel; Assistant Professor; and Professor, respectively, Dept. of Soils, Water & Eng., The University of Arizona.

Received for publication October 11, 1982. Accepted for publication August 10, 1984.