Ramdas layer and thermal wave during winter period

Abstract

Earlier works on Ramdas Layer were about its certainty, its existence, energy balance on the layer and a matching mathematical model. We, first identified it in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, for eight days during a fortnight study on soil heat flux. A lifted minimum in temperature could have implications in agriculture and horticulture and so with a view to finding out a range of height through which Ramdas layer occurs, Ramdas-max, Ramdas-min are identified. On 24 January 1994, Ramdas layer occurred at a maximum height of 0.8m from the surface and the day is labeled as Ramdas-max. On 1 February 1994, it occurred at a lower height of 0.4m from the surface and the day is labeled as Ramdas-min.

The thermal wave at the ground and at 0.05m depth, the range of thermal wave, its relationship with Ramdas layer, the temperature profile, the rate of change of heat in that layer with that at the surface and the subsoil heat flux at the sub-soil surface stratum(surface-0.05m) during R~mdas-max and Ramdas-min are duly compared and discussed.