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Comparison of Ground Penetrating Radar and Time‐Domain Reflectometry as Soil Water Sensors
Author(s) -
Weiler Kirk W.,
Steenhuis Tammo S.,
Boll Jan,
Kung K.J. Samuel
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1998.03615995006200050013x
Subject(s) - ground penetrating radar , reflectometry , soil science , time domain , soil water , water content , dielectric , radar , remote sensing , calibration , offset (computer science) , environmental science , geology , materials science , geotechnical engineering , physics , engineering , optoelectronics , telecommunications , quantum mechanics , computer science , computer vision , programming language
Robust and noninvasive techniques for in situ measurement of soil water content are essential for monitoring and research of many hydrologic processes. Although in situ measurement of soil water content by means of a soil's electric and dielectric properties has been explored extensively, the use of ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) for this purpose is not well established. We compared the soil's dielectric constant as measured by GPR and time domain reflectometry (TDR) and its relationship to water content determined independently in auger holes. We propose a calibration equation relating soil water to GPR‐measured dielectric constants. The difference in calibration equations between GPR and TDR was partially attributed to the difference in frequency ranges in which TDR and GPR operate and the zero offset of the GPR.