Modeling of soil surface temperature and heat flux during pre-monsoon season at two tropical stations

A pilot experiment was conducted in pre-monsoon months of 2007 at Kharagpur (22°30′ N, 87°20′ E) under STORM (Severe Thunderstorms: Observations and Regional Modeling) programme, during which measurements of soil surface temperature and heat flux are absent. An attempt has been made to estimate these parameters using in situ soil temperature and moisture measurements at varied depths employing one-dimensional soil temperature rate model that includes both thermal conduction and heat transfer by water flux. One of the limitations of the model is that the soil–vegetation interactions are not considered. Validation of the methodology has been carried out using data sets obtained from the Land Surface Processes Experiment (LASPEX) at Anand (22°35′ N, 72°55′ E). The estimated surface and sub-surface soil temperatures have captured the variation with depth in terms of phase and amplitude as noticed in situ   observations at both the sites but with 12 h lag at Anand and about 1 h lag at Kharagpur. Successful validation of the methodology using LASPEX data reveals the estimation of soil surface temperature and heat flux at Kharagpur obtained is reasonable.