Complex Dielectric Constant and Surface Impedance of Hydrous Soil for Estimation of Water Content in Soil in Medium Wave Bands

Abstract

The number of landslides in Japan has been increasing in recent years. Because the main cause of landslides is to increase the water content in soil, the complex dielectric content of the hydrous decomposed granite was measured at 1MHz frequency to estimate the water content of the decomposed granite by receiving the AM broadcasting radio waves. The relative dielectric constant was changed from 3 to 20 versus the water content from 0 % to 20 %, and the loss tangent was also changed from 0.1 to 50 in the same range of the water content. It was obvious that the water content in soil may be estimated by investigating the propagation characteristics of the AM broadcasting radio waves.