The Variation with Meteorological Conditions of the Amount of Radium Emanation in the Atmosphere, in the Soil Gas, and in the air Exhaled from the Surface of the Ground, at Manila

Abstract

TN the Philippine Journal of Science of February, 1914, the authors •*-published the results of an extensive series of observations on the amount of radium emanation in the atmosphere of Manila. The wellknown charcoal-absorption method was used and the main part of the investigation was preceded by numerous tests on certain points concerned with the accuracy of the method. The work at Manila was supplemented by an investigation of the variation of the emanation content of the atmosphere with altitude, observations being taken on Mt. Pauai, elevation 2,460 meters, and the results compared with those for sea level. 1 Although the especial points of the investigation were those above mentioned we felt justified at that time, since the period involved extended over almost a year and a half, in pointing out certain evident relations between the emanation content of the atmosphere and the different meteorological factors. The data at our command was not considered sufficient, however, to justify the drawing of more than very general conclusions. During the past year observations have been taken with the object of determining more definitely to what extent the amount of radium emanation in the air is dependent on weather conditions. At the same time tests have been made on several other points which have a more or less direct bearing on the question.The experimental method used was described in detail in our previous paper, but for the sake of completeness a brief summary of the description will be given, together with such modifications as experience had shown to be advisable.The method had its origin in the discovery by Rutherford that charcoal made from the shells of coconuts possesses the property of absorbing radioactive emanations. Eve 2 and Satterly 3 independently applied the discovery to the determination of the radium-emanation content of the atmosphere. 1

Portable two-filter dual-flow-loop <sup>222</sup>Rn detector: stand-alone monitor and calibration transfer device

“…After correcting the plumbing of the thoron delay, and optimising the speed of the internal flow loop, the theoretical DL of ∼ 0.14 Bq m −3 should be achievable. To be suitable for remote "baseline" studies a radon monitor requires a DL of ≤ 50 mBq m −3 (Zahorowski et al, 2013;Chambers et al, 2016). The best opportunity to improve the DL of this monitor is through improving the counting efficiency of the measurement head (Fig.…”

“…Shortly following its formal discovery in 1898, radon was recognised as a powerful tracer of terrestrial influences on air masses (Satterly, 1910;Wright and Smith, 1915). Radon's utility as a tracer of vertical mixing has been demonstrated through numerous surface-atmosphere exchange (Moses et al, 1960;Hosler, 1968;Kirichenko, 1970;Fontan et al, 1979;Fujinami and Osaka, 1987;Porstendörfer, 1994;Williams et al, 2011Williams et al, , 2013 and urban pollution/urban climate (Perrino et al, 2001;Sesana et al, 2003;Kikaj et al, 2020;Chambers et al, 2019b) studies.…”

“…In the free troposphere above the ABL, radon concentrations can reduce to 0.01 Bq m −3 or less (Liu et al, 1984;Kritz et al, 1998;Williams et al, 2011). In the remote marine boundary layer, on the other hand, mixing in the absence of a significant surface radon source tends to result in minimal vertical radon gradients, and concentrations can fall below 0.05 Bq m −3 (Balkanski et al, 1992;Polian et al, 1996;Zahorowski et al, 2013;Chambers et al, 2018).…”

Identifying persistent temperature inversion events in a subalpine basin using radon-222

“…Unfortunately, there have been relatively few observational studies of PTI events (Clements et al, 2003;Dorninger et al, 2011;Lareau et al, 2013;Lehner et al, 2015;Silcox et al, 2012). To date, this lack of observational studies has mainly been due to the difficulty in making the necessary meteorological measurements within the topographically challenging regions (Yao and Zhong, 2009). Furthermore, such studies often require the deployment of sophisticated instrumentation (e.g., radiosondes, tethered balloons, masts, or aircraft), which is typically expensive and labor intensive to operate (Baasandorj et al, 2017).…”

Identifying ‘persistent temperature inversion’ events in a Subalpine Basin using Radon-222

“…The naturally-occurring radioactive gas radon ( 222 Rn) is an ideal candidate for this task. The use of radon as a tracer in atmospheric studies dates back from the early 1900s (Eve, 1908;Satterly, 1910;Wigand and Wenk, 1928;Wright and Smith, 1915). In particular, however, radon has achieved considerable credibility in the field of atmospheric science as an 20 indicator of vertical mixing and transport near the Earth's surface from 1960s until nowadays (Moses et al, 1960;Kirichenko, 1962;Cohen et al, 1972;Allegrini et al, 1994;Perrino et al, 2001;Sesana et al, 2003;Galmarini, 2006;Avino and Manigrasso, 2008;Chambers et al, 2011;Williams et al, 2011Williams et al, , 2013Pitari et al, 2014;Chambers et al, 2015;Wang et al, 2016;Williams et al, 2016;Chambers et al, 2018).…”