A microwave imaging circular setup for soil moisture information

Soil moisture is an important parameter for understanding fluid flow modelling as well as the water uptake by plants roots. A microwave scanner is presently being designed to demonstrate the potentiality of a non-invasive microwave imaging system for volumetric water content monitoring. After briefly describing the setup, the numerical tools which are needed for the modelling and the inversion of the electromagnetic fields are introduced. In particular, a finite element method has been adapted to the specific setup geometry. An iterative inversion scheme, based on a Lagrangian formalism has been implemented to provide dielectric permittivity maps of the domain under investigation.