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Title: Molybdenum and Uranium from Remote Continental Origin at Pico Summit, Pico Island, Azores, Portugal

Abstract

The present study looks into aerosols collected by a land-based, seven-wavelength Aethalometer, from the lower-free troposphere close to the summit of the Pico mountain (top height: 2351 m; sampling height: 2225 m), in Pico island, Azores, Portugal. Following suitable handling and preparation procedures, all samples were put through instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA; k{sub 0}-variant) for elemental assessment. Archival data have been used as an input to the HYSPLIT model (courtesy of NOAA ARL READY Website) for computing isentropic, backward trajectories of air masses reaching the Pico atmosphere. The results point to significant enrichments of molybdenum and uranium in high-altitude aerosols, especially in the summer samples. A local origin for either element is most unlikely though: Pico is a rural island, and there are no comparable records from low-altitude stations in the Azores at large. On the contrary, long-range transport from remote sources in continental areas--Europe and North-Central America--is rather compatible with the synoptic, elemental pathways converging over the Pico observatory for the period under study.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Reactor-ITN, Technological and Nuclear Institute, E.N. 10, 2686-953 Sacavem (Portugal)
  2. CERENA-IST, Technical University of Lisbon, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal)
  3. Environmental Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Inoenue Bulvari, 06531 Ankara (Turkey)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
21152448
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
AIP Conference Proceedings
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 1034; Journal Issue: 1; Conference: NRE-VIII: 8. International symposium on the natural radiation environment, Buzios, RJ (Brazil), 7-12 Oct 2007; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2991216; (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0094-243X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; AEROSOLS; AIR; ISENTROPIC PROCESSES; LONG-RANGE TRANSPORT; MOLYBDENUM; MULTI-ELEMENT ANALYSIS; NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS; PORTUGAL; QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS; SAMPLING; TROPOSPHERE; URANIUM

Citation Formats

Carmo Freitas, Maria do, Pacheco, Adriano M. G., and Tuncel, Guerdal. Molybdenum and Uranium from Remote Continental Origin at Pico Summit, Pico Island, Azores, Portugal. United States: N. p., 2008. Web. doi:10.1063/1.2991216.
Carmo Freitas, Maria do, Pacheco, Adriano M. G., & Tuncel, Guerdal. Molybdenum and Uranium from Remote Continental Origin at Pico Summit, Pico Island, Azores, Portugal. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2991216
Carmo Freitas, Maria do, Pacheco, Adriano M. G., and Tuncel, Guerdal. 2008. "Molybdenum and Uranium from Remote Continental Origin at Pico Summit, Pico Island, Azores, Portugal". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2991216.
@article{osti_21152448,
title = {Molybdenum and Uranium from Remote Continental Origin at Pico Summit, Pico Island, Azores, Portugal},
author = {Carmo Freitas, Maria do and Pacheco, Adriano M. G. and Tuncel, Guerdal},
abstractNote = {The present study looks into aerosols collected by a land-based, seven-wavelength Aethalometer, from the lower-free troposphere close to the summit of the Pico mountain (top height: 2351 m; sampling height: 2225 m), in Pico island, Azores, Portugal. Following suitable handling and preparation procedures, all samples were put through instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA; k{sub 0}-variant) for elemental assessment. Archival data have been used as an input to the HYSPLIT model (courtesy of NOAA ARL READY Website) for computing isentropic, backward trajectories of air masses reaching the Pico atmosphere. The results point to significant enrichments of molybdenum and uranium in high-altitude aerosols, especially in the summer samples. A local origin for either element is most unlikely though: Pico is a rural island, and there are no comparable records from low-altitude stations in the Azores at large. On the contrary, long-range transport from remote sources in continental areas--Europe and North-Central America--is rather compatible with the synoptic, elemental pathways converging over the Pico observatory for the period under study.},
doi = {10.1063/1.2991216},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/21152448}, journal = {AIP Conference Proceedings},
issn = {0094-243X},
number = 1,
volume = 1034,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Aug 07 00:00:00 EDT 2008},
month = {Thu Aug 07 00:00:00 EDT 2008}
}