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Electrical and Computer Engineering

Utah State University

Theses/Dissertations

1971

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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Measurement Of Soil Moisture By Attenuation Of A Vertically Polarized Radio Wave, Arlo D. Mickelsen May 1971

Measurement Of Soil Moisture By Attenuation Of A Vertically Polarized Radio Wave, Arlo D. Mickelsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this thesis is to determine feasibility and to investigate some of the problems encountered in making soil moisture measurements using radio wave propagation. The procedure consists of propagating a vertically polarized wave over the earth and measuring the field strength attenuation. A brief summary of present methods of measuring soil moisture is given.

Certain aspects of radio wave propagation theory are discussed, covering such topics as the surface wave, the space wave, the skin depth, and the effect of the dielectric constant on radio wave propagation. Based on this theory, measurement parameters such as frequency, antenna separation, …