Kansas Geological Survey, Current Research in Earth Sciences, Bulletin 247,
part 1
Modeling Dielectric-constant Values of Geologic Materials: An Aid to Ground-penetrating Radar Data Collection and Interpretation
Table 1. Bulk dielectric constants (
r measured at 100 MHz) of common earth materials.
| Material | from Davis and Annan, 1989 | from Daniels, 1996 |
|---|---|---|
| Air | 1 | 1 |
| Distilled water | 80 | |
| Fresh water | 80 | 81 |
| Sea water | 80 | |
| Fresh water ice | 3-4 | 4 |
| Sea water ice | 4-8 | |
| Snow | 8-12 | |
| Permafrost | 4-8 | |
| Sand, dry | 3-5 | 4-6 |
| Sand, wet | 20-30 | 10-30 |
| Sandstone, dry | 2-3 | |
| Sandstone, wet | 5-10 | |
| Limestone | 4-8 | |
| Limestone, dry | 7 | |
| Limestone wet | 8 | |
| Shales | 5-15 | |
| Shale, wet | 6-9 | |
| Silts | 5-30 | |
| Clays | 5-40 | |
| Clay, dry | 2-6 | |
| Clay, wet | 15-40 | |
| Soil, sandy dry | 4-6 | |
| Soil, sandy wet | 15-30 | |
| Soil, loamy dry | 4-6 | |
| Soil, loamy wet | 10-20 | |
| Soil, clayey dry | 4-6 | |
| Soil, clayey wet | 10-15 | |
| Coal, dry | 3.5 | |
| Coal, wet | 8 | |
| Granite | 4-6 | |
| Granite, dry | 5 | |
| Granite, wet | 7 | |
| Salt, dry | 5-6 | 4-7 |