Factors Affecting Interfacial Polarization and Dielectric Behavior of Wet Soils

The presence of free charges and numerous discontinuities separating liquid, gas, and solid phases in partially-saturated soils give rise to a relatively understudied phenomenon of interfacial polarization that could impact bulk dielectric permittivity measurements using TDR and similar soil-embedded sensors. Evidence suggests a complex interplay between the response of complex dielectric permittivity spectrum to changes in ambient temperature and amount of ionic charges present in the wet soil. Model calculations based on Hanai's theory are supported by direct measurements using Network Analyzer showing that at low frequency (