Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I'm doing this experiment, and I saw that snow is an insulator and keeps the environmental temperature changes not affect the soil, but wouldn't snow affect the soil's temperature because of conduction? Wouldn't the cold temperature of the snow decrease the temp of the soil? So how does the snow keep the soil warm if the snow is the same temperature as the environment, causing the soil to be the same temperature as the snow?

Dear lorili05,

Since snow is an insulator, it is able to control the temperature below it. Also, since the snow is cold and moist, it can retain the heat and maintain the moisture in the soil. Dry soil has a tendency to cool down faster and to freeze. Therefore, this means that if soil is provided with moisture, it is less likely to change its temperature.

These are the sites that I used:
1) https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/snow/climate.html
2) http://www.wallacesfarmer.com/weather/h ... ffect-soil

I hope this helps you.

RicaC