TY - JOUR
T1 - Frequency, temperature and salinity variation of the permittivity of seawater
AU - Somaraju, Ram
AU - Trumpf, Jochen
PY - 2006/11
Y1 - 2006/11
N2 - With the emergence of unmanned marine robots, underwater communication systems have received much attention in recent years. To successfully develop radio wave based communication solutions, it is essential to understand properties of electromagnetic wave transmission in seawater. These properties are determined by the frequency variation of the permittivity of seawater. Existing models for the permittivity of saline water are empirical ones that best fit experimental data. We propose a physically realistic model, similar to the one used in plasma physics, for the variation of the dielectric constant of water with varying frequencies and salinities. Our model is in excellent agreement with existing empirical fits for frequencies between 1 and 256 GHz. We use this model to study the propagation of electromagnetic waves in seawater. We explain that large propagation distances would be possible at MHz frequencies if the conductivity of seawater decreases at small field strengths due to the hydrogen bonding of water molecules. However, we were unable to experimentally verify any reduction in the conductivity of seawater.
AB - With the emergence of unmanned marine robots, underwater communication systems have received much attention in recent years. To successfully develop radio wave based communication solutions, it is essential to understand properties of electromagnetic wave transmission in seawater. These properties are determined by the frequency variation of the permittivity of seawater. Existing models for the permittivity of saline water are empirical ones that best fit experimental data. We propose a physically realistic model, similar to the one used in plasma physics, for the variation of the dielectric constant of water with varying frequencies and salinities. Our model is in excellent agreement with existing empirical fits for frequencies between 1 and 256 GHz. We use this model to study the propagation of electromagnetic waves in seawater. We explain that large propagation distances would be possible at MHz frequencies if the conductivity of seawater decreases at small field strengths due to the hydrogen bonding of water molecules. However, we were unable to experimentally verify any reduction in the conductivity of seawater.
KW - Attenuation
KW - Electromagnetic propagation in plasma media
KW - Permittivity
KW - Underwater radio propagation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34547195893&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/TAP.2006.884290
DO - 10.1109/TAP.2006.884290
M3 - Article
SN - 0018-926X
VL - 54
SP - 3441
EP - 3448
JO - IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation
JF - IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation
IS - 11
ER -