ISSN:
1588-2780
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
Notes:
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.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02071239
