Dielectric properties of snow in the 3 to 37 GHz range

Abstract

Microwave dielectric measurements of dry and wet snow were made at nine frequencies betweeo 3 and 18 GHz, and at 37 GHz, using two free-space transmission systems. The measurements were conducted during the winters of 1982 and 1983. The following parametric ranges were covered: 1) liquid water content, 0 to 12.3 percent by volume; 2) snow density, 0.09 to 0.42 g cm^-3; 3) temperature, 0 to-5 \degC and-15\degC (scattering-loss measurements); and 4) crystal size, 0.5 to 1.5 mm. The experimental data indicate that the dielectric behavior of wet snow closely follows the dispersion behavior of water. For dry snow, volume scattering is the dominant loss mechanism at 37 GHz. The applicability of several empirical and theoretical mixing models was evaluated using the experimental data. Both the Debye-like semi-empirical model and the theoretical Polder-Van Santen mixing model were found to describe adequately the dielectric behavior of wet snow. However, the Polder-Van Santen model provided a good fit to the measured values of the real and imaginary parts of wet snow only when the shapes of the water inclusions in snow were assumed to be both nonsymmetrical and dependent upon snow water content. The shape variation predicted by the model is consistent with the variation suggested by the physical mechanisms governing the distribution of liquid water in wet snow.