Microwave Dielectric Behavior of Wet Soil-Part II: Dielectric Mixing Models

TLDR

This study continues a series on microwave dielectric behavior of soil‑water mixtures, focusing on water content and soil texture. The aim is to develop empirical and theoretical dielectric mixing models for the 1.4–18 GHz range using Part I data. The authors present a semi‑empirical model based on refractive index and a four‑component theoretical model that includes bound water, bulk water, air, and a hydration layer, and evaluate both against measurements from five soils across 1.4–18 GHz. The semi‑empirical model fits the measured data excellently above 4 GHz.

Abstract

This paper is the second in a series evaluating the microwave dielectric behavior of soil-water mixtures as a function of water content and soil textural composition. Part II draws upon the data presented in Part 1 [13] to develop appropriate empirical and theoretical dielectric mixing models for the 1.4-to 18-GHz region. A semiempirical mixing model based upon the index of refraction is presented, requiring only easily ascertained soil physical parameters such as volumetric moisture and soil textural composition as inputs. In addition, a theoretical model accounting explicitly for the presence of a hydration layer of bound water adjacent to hydrophilic soil particle surfaces is presented. A four-component dielectric mixing model treats the soil-water system as a host medium of dry soil solids containing randomly distributed and randomly oriented disc-shaped inclusions of bound water, bulk water, and air. The bulk water component is considered to be dependent upon frequency, temperature, and salinity. The soil solution is differentiated by means of a soil physical model into 1) a bound component and 2) a bulk soil solution. The performance of each model is evaluated as a function of soil moisture, soil texture, and frequency, using the dielectric measurements of five soils ranging from sandy loam to silty clay (as presented in Part I [13]) at frequencies between 1.4 and 18 GHz. The semiempirical mixing model yields an excellent fit to the measured data at frequencies above 4 GHz. At 1.