The main disadvantage of applying IR thermal images for detection of buried mines, is the present of various false indications in thermograms together with strong influence of the environmental conditions for final results. A simple use of IRT equipment with better temperature resolution would not help in distinguishing mines, since noise does not come form camera but from the soil surface. The purpose of this paper is to present the phenomenology of the potential soil temperature gradients and distributions on the surface of the soil induced by both natural sources and buried mine. The aim of presented models is to help in recognizing the peculiarities of signal and noises depending on such parameters as: time and space variability of moisture and density of soil, buried mine and soil features and environmental conditions. Numerous examples of simulations and thermographic measurements are presented. Measurements were made for field and laboratory stand-ups, using methodologies typical for 'single-shot' measurements as well as analyses of transient processes based on sequence of thermograms. This paper shows chosen limitations of the thermal methodology efficiency.