Comparative analysis of the soil thermal regimes of typical underlying surfaces of oasis systems in an Arid Region

Using supplementary observational data obtained from the “Oasis System Energy and Water Cycle Field Experiment” conducted in the summer of 2005 and 2008, we performed a comparative analysis of the characteristics of soil thermal regimes of an Oasis and the Gobi in terms of the surface albedo, soil temperature gradient, soil heat flux and soil thermal conductivity. The results showed that on sunny summer days, the daily average albedos of the Gobi and Oasis were 0.215, 0.159 in 2005 and 0.207, 0.150 in 2008, respectively. The soil temperature gradient and the net radiation showed an approximate linear relationship; the soil temperature gradient decreased with the increase of net radiation and it declined faster when the net radiation was negative. The soil heat flux of the 0.05 m soil layer varied in phase with the soil heat flux of the 0.20 m layer of soil. The thermal conductivity values of the 0.05 m layer of the Gobi and Oasis soil were 0.193 and 0.374 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹. The soil heat flux can be well estimated using soil temperature gradient and soil thermal conductivity from observation in the Gobi.