Measurement of the dielectric constant of seawater at L-band

Accurate relationships between salinity and dielectric constant (which determines emissivity) are needed for sensor systems such as SMOS and Aquarius that will monitor salinity from space in the future. This paper describes a resonant cavity technique for the measurement of the dielectric constant of seawater as a function of its salinity. The purpose of the new measurements is to establish the dependence of the dielectric constant of seawater on salinity in contemporary units (e.g. psu) and to take advantage of modern instrumentation to increase the accuracy of these measurements.