ATMOSPHERIC RADIOACTIVITY IN ANTARCTICA 1956-1963.

• Main Authors: Lockhart,L. B. ,Jr., Patterson,R. L. ,Jr., Saunders,A. W. ,Jr.
• Other Authors: NAVAL RESEARCH LAB WASHINGTON D C
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1965
• Subjects: Atmospheric Physics; Radioactiv; Radioactive Wastes & Fission Prod; *ANTARCTIC REGIONS; RADIOACTIVITY; FALLOUT; FISSION PRODUCTS; RADON; DECAY; RADIOACTIVE DECAY; AEROSOLS; Amundsen Scott South Pole Station; Amundsen-Scott; Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station; Antarctic; Little America; South Pole; Antarc*; Antarctica; South pole
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0625439; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0625439

Continuous measurements of the radioactive aerosol content of the surface air in Antarctica have been made since 1956, first at Little America and later at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Both the radioactivity due to bomb-produced fission products and to the naturally occurring radionuclides of the radon and thoron series were measured in daily collections; composite samples covering three-month periods were subjected to radiochemical analysis for such long-lived radionuclides as Sr(90), Cs(137), Ce(144), Pm(147), and Pb(210). The observed natural radioactivity was lower in Antarctica than at any other geographical location, as might be expected from the absence of any quantity of exposed land surface in the vicinity. The fission-product concentrations, however, were equal to or greater than those observed in the southernmost parts of South America. Well-defined seasonal variations in airborne radioactivity were noted, with maxima in the summer. (Author)