Temperature and evaporation characteristics of Arizona soils

• Main Author: Poland, John Robert.
• Other Authors: Post, Donald F.
• Language: en
• Published: The University of Arizona. 1984
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/191810

Nineteen representative Arizona soils plus no. 20 silica sand were studied during May, 1983, to determine the relationship between soil temperature change and evaporation and individual soil characteristics. The soils were placed in 50 x 50 x 28 cm wooden boxes with each soil series occupying two boxes, one which had been wetted with two pore volumes of water and one which was dry. Surface soil temperatures (measured with a hand-held infrared thermometer) were taken six times a day for all soils. The wetted soils were weighed at the beginning and end of a 36 hour run to determine gravimetrically the amount of water lost due to evaporation. Thermal and evaporation measurements were compared to a number of soil characteristics determined on both a volume and weight basis.