Continuously measured 222Rn activity concentrations (daily means) in near surface air at Neumayer Station in the period 1995 through 2011

• Main Authors: Weller, Rolf, Levin, Ingeborg, Schmithüsen, Dominik, Nachbar, Mario, Asseng, Jölund, Wagenbach, Dietmar
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2013
• Subjects: Air chemistry observatory; Atmospheric Chemistry @ AWI; AWI_AC; AWI_stations; AWI Antarctic Land Expedition; DATE/TIME; Date/time end; Dronning Maud Land; Antarctica; Duration; number of days; HEIGHT above ground; Neumayer_SPUSO; Radon-222 activity; SPUSO; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Neumayer; Neumayer Station; Antarc*; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.822027; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.822027

We report on continuously measured 222Rn activity concentrations in near-surface air at Neumayer Station in the period 1995-2011. This 17-year record showed no long-term trend and has overall mean ± standard deviation of (0.019 ± 0.012) Bq/m**3. A distinct and persistent seasonality could be distinguished with maximum values of (0.028 ± 0.013) Bq/m**3 from January to March and minimum values of (0.015 ± 0.009) Bq/m**3 from May to October. Elevated 222Rn activity concentrations were typically associated with air mass transport from the Antarctic Plateau. Our results do not support a relation between enhanced 222Rn activity concentrations at Neumayer and cyclonic activity or long-range transport from South America. The impact of oceanic 222Rn emissions could not be properly assessed but we tentatively identified regional sea ice extent (SIE) variability as a significant driver of the annual 222Rn cycle.