Dynamics, deterministic nature and correlations of outdoor 222Rn and 220Rn progeny concentrations measured at Bacău, Romania

Abstract

The long-term variation, nature and correlations of outdoor 222Rn and 220Rn progeny concentrations measured during the period 1994–2009 were investigated. The time series of data were obtained within the framework of the monitoring program performed by the Environmental Radioactivity Monitoring Station (ERMS) Bacău, a component part of the National Environmental Radioactivity Survey Network (NERSN), coordinated by National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA). The measuring method is based on the total beta measurements of atmospheric aerosol filters, using a low background total beta counter and ( 90Sr/Y) reference standard. Analysis of the time series of progeny concentrations in the low atmosphere makes evident different patterns of variation of these concentrations: diurnal, seasonal and annual. A possible relationship of progeny concentration increase with global warming is emphasized. In order to find the dominant frequency of the physical processes determining progeny concentration variability the power spectrum has been used. The deterministic nature of the time series of concentrations has been studied making use of the autocorrelation function and stationarity of the original data and of their phase randomized time series. Also, the correlations with meteorological parameters have been investigated using Pearson’s correlation coefficient with corresponding level of significance.