Abstract
Abstract. The estimation of radon progeny in the Arctic region represents a scientific challenge due to the required low limit of detection in consideration of the limited radon emanation associated with permafrost dynamics. This preliminary study highlighted, for the first time above 70∘ N, the possibility to monitor radon progeny in the Arctic region with a higher time resolution. The composition of the radon progeny offered the opportunity to identify air masses dominated by long-range transport, in presence or absence of near-constant radon progeny instead of long- and short-lived progenies. Furthermore, the different ratio between radon and thoron progenies evidenced the contributions of local emissions and atmospheric stability. Two different emanation periods were defined in accordance with the permafrost dynamics at the ground and several accumulation windows were recognized coherently to the meteo-climatic conditions occurring at the study site.
Highlights
The detection of radionuclides within the Arctic environment is an important tool to help with understanding the pathways for radionuclide transport to, within and from the Arctic (Chun, 2014; AMAP, 2010)
Two different questions were approached in order to evaluate the potentialities in using radon progeny in the Arctic region: what is the impact of permafrost dynamics on the radon detection in the air? How does the air mass trajectory control the signal detected in the lower atmosphere?
Atmospheric stability can be traced looking at the residence time of air masses above Svalbard islands in the last 5 days (Fig. 4c)
Summary
The detection of radionuclides within the Arctic environment is an important tool to help with understanding the pathways for radionuclide transport to, within and from the Arctic (Chun, 2014; AMAP, 2010). Occurring radionuclides, emitted by geologic sources and associated with cosmogenic processes, can describe air masses’ origin and residence time (Baskaran, 2016) This is key information for studying the fate of pollutants in the Arctic region, which is controlled by the meteo-climatic conditions occurring during different seasons and on different days of the year (Baskaran and Shaw, 2001). The expected radon activity in the air (we refer to especially to 222Rn which is more frequently estimated in literature) ranges between 30 mBq m−3 in the Arctic, with persistent polar winds, and more than 400 mBq m−3 when continental air masses reached higher latitudes (Samuelson et al, 1986) This value is, influenced by different features that characterize the sampling site: the latitude, the meteo-climatic conditions, the altitude and the distance
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