Microwave Penetration and Attenuation in Desert Soil: A Field Experiment with the Shuttle Imaging Radar

Receivers buried in the Nevada desert were used with the Shuttle Imaging Radar to measure microwave attenuation as a function of soil moisture in situ. Results agree closely with laboratory measureements of attenuation and suggest that penetration of tens of centimeters in desert soils is common for L-band (1.2-GHz) radar.