A bench-scale assessment of the effect of soil temperature on bare soil evaporation in winter

Abstract

To quantitatively evaluate in the laboratory the effect of soil temperature on bare soil evaporation, this study uses two indoor soil columns and homogenized sand as an example to carry out the experimental study of soil temperature on bare soil evaporation in winter. The results show that the soil temperature directly affects the change in bare soil evaporation and that the effect decreases as the soil temperature decreases. Because of the influence of soil temperature, the soil water movement accelerates, and the soil water content increases. At a depth of 50 cm, the average difference in soil water content between groups A and B was 7.61%. The soil evaporation when considering the soil temperature was obviously greater than that without considering the soil temperature. This shows that in a laboratory environment where the soil temperature is higher than the room temperature in winter, the effect of the soil temperature on bare soil evaporation is significant. Soil temperature directly affects soil water movement and distribution, which is one of the important influencing factors affecting bare soil evaporation. HIGHLIGHTS Soil temperature is higher than the atmospheric temperature in the winter, and the soil evaporation when considering the soil temperature is increased by 34.78% compared with when the soil temperature is not considered.; When the groundwater depth is larger than the supporting capillary water rise height, the soil temperature has a greater influence on soil evaporation and soil water content and cannot be ignored.;

Keywords

• bare soil evaporation
• bench-scale
• soil temperature
• soil water content