A laboratory study of the correlation between the thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity of soil

Thermal conductivity k (Wm− 1 K− 1) and electrical resistivity ρ (Ω·m) depend on common parameters such as grain size, dry density and saturation, allowing the finding of a relationship between both parameters. In this paper, we found a linear quantitative formula between thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity of soil. To accomplish this, we measured the thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity of 57 soil samples in the laboratory; samples included 8 reconstructed soils from the Changchun area (clay, silt, and sand) with approximately 7 different saturation levels. A linear relationship between thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity was found excluding the parameter of soil saturation, and the linear model was validated with undisturbed soils in Changchun area. To fully use this relationship (e.g., by imaging the thermal conductivity of soils with electrical resistivity tomography), further measurements with different soils are needed.