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arXiv · 2608.30864

Measurement of Liquid Water Content in Snow from Density-Insensitive Microwave Attenuation

Marco Niederberger·Sebastian Droz·Shaarujan Kamalanathan·Michel A. Nyffenegger·Albert Loichinger·Hans-Dieter Lang
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Abstract

A measurement principle for determining liquid water content (LWC) in snow is presented that does not require a priori knowledge or separate measurement of snow density. LWC affects the imaginary part of the effective permittivity of snow, which is linked to microwave attenuation along a microstrip transmission line embedded in the snowpack, independent of snow density. By analyzing the attenuation over a range of microwave frequencies, the corresponding LWC can be inferred. Full-wave simulations indicate a sensitivity of approximately 2 dB per % LWC,while experimental results confirm the insensitivity to snow density, highlighting the potential for remote snow characterization.

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Marco Niederberger, Sebastian Droz, Shaarujan Kamalanathan, Michel A. Nyffenegger, Albert Loichinger, Hans-Dieter Lang. 2026-08-31. Measurement of Liquid Water Content in Snow from Density-Insensitive Microwave Attenuation. https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.30864

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