Measurement on the dielectric properties of acid-doped ice at 9.7 GHz

The relative complex dielectric permittivity of acid-doped ice was measured at 9.7 GHz with the standing wave method. The objective of this measurement is to clarify the basic physical properties of ice necessary for the microwave remote sensing of the cryosphere. The acid-doped ice was investigated because acid is one of the major impurities found in snow and ice in the cryosphere. The experimental results show that the complex permittivity increases linearly with concentration of doped acid. Moreover, when the concentration of acid is expressed by molarity, this linear relation is independent of the sort of acid. The complex permittivity of acid-doped ice can be expressed as a function of concentration of acid and temperature definitely. A possible mechanism for enhancing the complex permittivity of acid-doped ice is formation of liquid phase in ice