It is erroneously thought by many that there is no activity in frozen soil. Actually, many physical, chemical, and even biological processes occur during the winter period when the soils are frozen. Water and solutes move to the freezing zone.
Water freezes into ice crystals leaving behind increasingly brinier films and pockets of water.
All of the water is not frozen unless the soil temperatures become very cold. Expanding ice crystals exert tremendous pressures on the surrounding soil aggregates causing them to rupture or become more compacted. Each layer was analyzed for water content, bulk density, and electrical conductivity. Findings and Application of Results Soil water moves upwards in the soil profile towards the freezing front. The vertical dashed line in Fig.