Abstract
The heat‐budget equation of the Earth's surface is discussed analytically under the assumptions that the radiational energy available at the ground is an harmonic time function, evaporation is constant, and heat conduction is molecular in the soil and turbulent in the atmospheric surface layer. A theoretical model of surface temperature oscillations is derived which gives the amplitudes and phase lags of both the diurnal and annual courses in terms of external conditions and the physical properties of the soil and atmosphere. Numerical verification of the theoretical results in comparison with observed findings seems to indicate that certain characteristics of the various microclimates can be explained on a physico‐mathematical basis.

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