An empirical determination of the relative dielectric constant of the Greenland ice cap

Abstract

Recent measurements of 30-Mhz radar pulse propagation times and density in the ice cap at Camp Century, Greenland, have been used to obtain an empirical relation between ice density and relative dielectric constant. The resulting dependence between density and dielectric constant, which is in agreement with the dielectric theory of Polder and Van Santen, yields a relative dielectric constant of deep ice of 3.31±0.04, corresponding to a density of 0.920 g/cm³.