Presented by Group

2 Nijifa Alam Torsha (18103408)

Deepeka Paul (18103425)
Nahid Sultana Mim (18103441)
Habiba Akther Happy (17103211)
Muhsina Binte Helal (17103400)
1
Mohtasim Ahmed Prem
 What is Soil Mechanics?
Soil mechanics is defined as the branch of Engineering science
which enables an engineer to know theoretically or
experimentially the behavior of soil under the action of

1.Loads
2.Gravitational Force
3. Water
4.Temperature
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Soil Temperature

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 Outline of this presentation
1 Soil Temperature

2 Thermal Conductivity of Soil

3 Factor affecting soil temperature

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Effect of soil Temperature on plant growth 4
 Thermal concept
Heat Temperature
Heat is the transfer of energy
The measure of degree
from a higher temperature
of hotness of an object.
object to lower temperature
object.

Soil temperature
Soil temperature is a part of soil mechanics which
deals with the measure of how hot or cold the soil
is .
This is the factor that divers germination,
blooming, composting and a variety of other
processes. Ideal soil temperature for planting most
plants are 18 to 24 C.
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 Source of soil heat

Solar radiation

Bio-chemical Reaction

Conduction

Precipitation

exposure

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 Energy Balance of Soil

 The Earth atmosphere energy balance is the balance between incoming

energy from the sun out going energy from the Earth.

 Soil is complicated domain in which surface temperature is determined by the

interplay of

Heating (by absorbed solar radiation)

Cooling (By long wave radiation to the sky)
convective exchange between soil and ambient air
Energy loss due to evaporation and
Heat flow between the surface and the deeper layer of soil

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 Energy Balance In Earth surface

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 Albedo
The fraction of energy reflected by a surface is called Albedo. Albedo is measured on
scale zero to one ( or sometimes as percent)

Reflected Radiation Energy

Albedo =
Incident Radiation Energy

Very Dark colors have an Albedo close to zero (or close to 0%)

Very light colors have an albedo close to one (or close to 100%)
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Albedo measured 0 to 1

0 means corresponding to a black body

that absorbs all incident radiation

Figure: Albedo = 0

1 means corresponding to a body that

reflects all incident radiation
Figure: Albedo = 1
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 Soil Heat Flux
Amount of thermal energy that moves through an area of
soil in a unit of time.

The soil heat flux is positive when the soil receives energy
(warms) and the negative when soil loses Energy (cools).

Soil heat flux Equation:

Net Radiation = Soil HFD + Sensible HFD+ Latent HFD

Rn = G + H + LE
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 Thermal properties of soil
 Soil is a mixture of solid, liquid (water) and gas (air and water
vapor)
 The Thermal properties of soil depend on the thermal
properties of the constituents, their volume fractions, and how
they are mixed.

The main soil thermal

properties are:

 Volumetric heat capacity

 Thermal conductivity
 Thermal diffusivity

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 Volumetric heat capacity, C
The volumetric heat capacity of a material is the heat capacity
of a sample of the substance divided by the volume of the
sample. The volumetric heat capacity is defined as having SI
units of J m-3k-1.

Volumetric Heat capacity of soil varies

with-
 Bulk density
 Mineralogy
 Organic matter content
 Water content
 Temperature

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 Thermal
conductivity
Thermal conductivity is the rate of heat transfer
through a unit area of soil under a unit temperature
gradient. It may be called “heat flux” or “heat transfer”.
Thermal conductivity,

κ =QL/AΔT
Where,
Q is the amount of heat transferred through the material
in Joules/second or Watts.
L is the distance between the two isothermal planes.
A is the area of the surface in square meters.
ΔT refers to the temperature gradient. 14
 Thermal Diffusivity, α
Thermal diffusivity is the thermal conductivity divided by
density and specific heat capacity at constant pressure. It is
used to characterize the rate of transmission of heat through
the soil.

Thermal diffusivity,
α==
Where,
C1 is the thermal conductivity in W m-1 K-1.
ps is the apparent soil density in kg m-3.
Cp =is the apparent mass specific heat capacity in J kg-1 K-1.
Cv is the volumetric heat capacity in J m-3 K-1 .
α is thermal diffusivity in m2 s-1.
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 Applications

 Used to predict soil temperatures.

 Used for measurement of soil moisture.

 Used for remote sensing applications.

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 Soil Temperature profile
 Soil temperature profiles provides an indication of temperature in various depth of
determine areas soil during different season.

 This profile displays soil

temperature data from sensor
at various depths such as 2,
4, 8, 20 and 40 inches

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Geothermal Heat

Geothermal takes
advantage of this
consistent temperature
and uses it to heat and
cool homes.

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First, a large holes is made into the ground and filled with a
series of pipes.
Especial heat absorbing fluid constantly runs through the
pipes.

In the winters heat from the ground absorbed into the

pipes and pushed upwards, where it can be circulated
throughout the house.

In summer, the process is reverse, heat from the

house is absorbed into the pipes and push
downwards , where it can be stored within the cooler
earth.

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 Loss of soil temperature
The factors responsible for loss of soil temperature
are as follows :

 Radiation – The same portion of temperature absorbed by

surface soil is lost by radiation to the atmospheric environment.

 Conduction – The soil temperature is lost from the soil by the

process of conduction which means transmission of anything
from one point to the other point.

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 Precipitation – Precipitation, specially during summer months
cools the soil by lowering its temperature.

 Evaporation – The major portion of soil temperature is used for

evaporation of soil moisture and transpiration of plant, i.e.,
evapotranspiration. The evapotranspiration is a process by
which soil moisture is lost from soil by evaporation and
transpiration of plant.

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 Method of Measuring Soil Temperature

Mercury soil Thermometers

Thermo couple and thermistor base device are also available.

Infrared Thermometer

Infrared thermometers measure the surface soil

temperature.

Automatic continuous soil thermographs record the soil

temperature on a time scale.

The international meteorological organization recommends

standard depths to measure soil temperature at 10,20,50
and 100 cm
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 Effect of soil temperature
Plant growth

The soil temperature requirements of plants vary with the species.

The temperature at which a plant thrives and produces best growth
is called optimum range temperature.

The entire range of temperature under which a plant can grow

including the optimum range is called growth range

The maximum and minimum temperatures beyond which the

plant will die are called survival limits.

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 There are also few effect of soil temperature. They are-
Germination of Seed
Absorption of Soil Water
Availability of Nutrients

Bioactivity

Organic matter decomposition

Aggregate stability
Soil pH

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 Factor Affecting Soil Temperature
The average annual soil temperature is about 1 degree C higher
than mean annual temperature. Soil temperature is influenced
by Climatic conditions.
!. Environmental Factors
2.Soil Factors
 Thermal (heat)
capacity of soil
 Heat of vaporization
 Thermal conductivity
and diffusivity
 Biological activity
 Radiation from soil
 Soil color
 Soil structure, texture
and moisture
 Soluble salts
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 Soil Temperature management
Use of organic and synthetic mulches:
Mulches keep soil cooler in hot
summer and warm in cool winter
Soil Water Management :
High moisture content in humid
temperature region lowers soil
temperature.

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Tillage management:
Tiling soil to break the natural structure
reduces the heat conductance and heat
loss. A highly compact soil looses heat
faster than loose friable soil

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 Summery
Soil temperature is a great factor to growth of plants and other
vegetation. An optimum soil temperature is required for much
growth of green in the planet. But as the climate changing and
people are also contributing to create more pollutant every day, the
global temperature is changing in every year. As a result soil
temperature also affected by global climate changing issue. Already
some part of the earth’s area turn into unfertile for this
temperature change. Many plants are extinct already. Also many
types of animals are affected for this. In total, the whole ecosystem
is effected if the temperature is change of soil. So people should be
concern about this issue and try best to maintain soil temperature
as favorable for the various plants growth and living of
microorganisms by keeping the environment pollution free as much
as possible. 29
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