Thermal conductivity of frozen soils

Thermal conductivity measurements of two frozen soils, Leda clay and Sudbury silty clay, taken at temperatures between 0 and −22 °C by means of a thermal probe and a transient heat flow technique, compare favorably with estimates of thermal conductivity calculated by the DeVries method. Both measured and estimated values show a similar trend of increasing thermal conductivity as the temperature is lowered and the ice content grows. This increase is associated with the higher thermal conductivity of ice compared with that of water.