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- Title
Observations of surface radon in Central Italy.
- Authors
Carlo, Piero Di; Pitari, Giovanni; Luca, Natalia De; Battisti, Domenico
- Abstract
Two years of in situ radon concentration measurements in the atmospheric surface layer have been collected in a central Italy town (L’Aquila), located in the Aterno river valley. These data have been analyzed in order to study the controlling mechanisms of surface radon abundance; observations of coincident meteorological parameters confirmed the role of dynamics on the local removal rate of this tracer. The relatively high negative correlation of hourly data of surface wind speed and radon activity concentration ( R = −0.54, on annual scale) suggests that dynamical removal of radon is one of the most important controlling processes of the tracer accumulation in the atmospheric surface layer. An attempt is made to quantify the precipitation impact on radon soil fluxes. No anticorrelation of radon and precipitation comes out from the data ( R = −0.15), as in previous studies. However, since the main physical parameter affecting the ground radon release is expected to be the soil accumulation of water, snow or ice, the emission flux has also been correlated with soil moisture; in this way a much clearer anticorrelation is found ( R = −0.54).
- Subjects
ITALY; RADON; NOBLE gases; EVAPOTRANSPIRATION; WATER supply; SOILS; SOIL moisture; RIVERS; RADIOACTIVITY
- Publication
Environmental Geology, 2009, Vol 58, Issue 2, p431
- ISSN
0943-0105
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00254-008-1513-8