Abstract
The mean weekly levels of7Be in the atmosphere of Cáceres (Spain) was measured for three consecutive years, from 1992 to 1994. The values showed a strongly seasonal behavior, conditioned fundamentally by two effects: (1) the incorporation of7Be into the low layers of the troposphere due to the displacement of masses of air from higher layers caused by the solar irradiation, and (2) the washing of7Be out of the atmosphere by rain. From the quantification of these two effects, the residence time of7Be was determined in the atmosphere at ground level as 10.3 days, with an interval for the standard error of 9.0 and 12.1 days. Modelling the temporal evolution of this radionuclide we were able to explain 90.72% of the variance of the measured activity levels. Using the effective residence time of7Be, we were able to justify the diversity of values obtained for the deposition of137Cs in different soils of the province of Cáceres due to the fallout from atmospheric nuclear blasts.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
H. W. FEELY, R. J. LARSEN, C. G. SANDERSON, J. Environ. Radioact., 9 (1989) 223.
J. TREMBLAY, R. SERVRANCKX, J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., 172 (1993) 49.
C. PAPASTEFANOU, A. IOANNIDOU, J. Environ. Radioact., 26 (1994) 273.
M. BETTOLI, L. CANTELLI, S. DEGETTO, L. TOSITTI, O. TUBERTINI, S. VALCHER, J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., 190 (1995) 137.
V. N. NIJAMPURKAR, D. K. RAO, J. Environ. Radioact., 21 (1993) 107.
H. BACHHUBER, K. BUNZI, J. Environ. Radioact., 16 (1992) 77.
W. VIEZEE, H. B. SINGH, J. Geophys. Res., 68 (1980) 3827.
Y. ISHIKAWA, H. MURAKAMI, T. SEKINE, K. YOSHIHARA, J. Environ. Radioact., 26 (1995) 19.
P. J. WALLBRINK, A. S. MURRAY, J. Environ. Radioact., 25 (1994) 213.
A. BAEZA, G. CORVO, M. DEL RÍO, J. PANIAGUA, Appl. Radiation Isotopes, 43 (1993) 833.
Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia, Radiación Solar en España, Año 1983, Centro de Estudios Meteorológicos, Madrid, 1985.
R. L. KATHREN, Radioactivity in the Environment: Sources, Distribution and Surveillance, Horwood Academic, Amsterdam, 1984.
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation, United Nations Publication, New York, 1993.
C. N. HEWIT, Methods of Environmental Data Analysis, Elsevier Science Publishers, London, 1992.
M. RUFO, Variaciones Estacionales de la Concentración de7Be en un Emplazamiento de Cáceres. Tesis de Licenciatura, Universidad de Extremadura, Cáceres, 1994.
S. J. S. ANAND, C. RANGARAJAN, U. C. MISHRA, Proc. on Atmospheric Aerosols Nuclear, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1988.
E. A. MARTEEL, H. E. MOORE, J. Rech. Atmos., 8 (1974) 903.
A. BAEZA, L. M. DEL RÍO, C. MIRÓ, J. PANIAGUA, J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., 175 (1993) 297.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baeza, A., Delrío, L.M., Jiménez, A. et al. Analysis of the temporal evolution of atmospheric7Be as a vector of the behavior of other radionuclides in the atmosphere. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Articles 207, 331–344 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02071239
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02071239