Measurement of the Dielectric Properties of Volcanic Scoria and Basalt at 9370 MHz

• Published in: 地质学报（英文版） 2005, Vol.79 (2), p.291-295
• Main Authors: ZHENG Yongchun, WANG Shijie, OUYANG Ziyuan, LI Xiongyao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1000-9515
• DOI: 10.3321/j.issn:1000-9515.2005.02.015

Dielectric data for volcanic scoria and basalt on the earth at microwave frequency are extremely sparse, and also crucial for volcanic terrains imaging, and development. In consideration of their similarity to lunar regolith (soils and rocks) in chemical and mineral composition, the dielectric data is significative for passive and active microwave remote sensing on the Moon. This study provides the data about the dielectric properties of three kinds of scoria and two kinds of basalt in China. The method put forward in this paper is also applicable for measuring the dielectric properties of dry rocks and other granular ground materials with low complex dielectric constants. Firstly, the authors measured the ε' and tanδvalues of strip specimens prepared from the mixture of scoria or basalt powder and polythene with the resonant cavity perturbation method at 9370 MHz. Secondly, from the ε' and tanδ values of the mixture, the ε's and ranδs values of solid scoria and basalt were calculated using Lichtenecker's mixture formulae. Finally, the effective complex dielectric constants, ε'e and tanδe, of scoria at different bulk densities were calculated. The results have shown that the ε's and tancδs values of all solid basaltic materials measured (both solid basaltic scoria or basalt) are approximately 7 and 0.05, respectively. With increasing bulk density of scoria, the ε'e and tanδe values of scoria increase significantly.