Use of penetrating GNSS signals for measuring soil moisture

This work introduces a novel approach for soil moisture estimation, based on the measurement of GNSS signals penetrating a soil volume. A model relating soil moisture content (SMC) to the measured soil transmissivity is proposed. The measurement concept is described and a preliminary experimental setup is proposed. The feasibility of the approach is evaluated through simulations of the measured ('apparent') transmissivity as a function of moisture content, surface roughness and receiving antenna depth, among other relevant parameters.