Molybdenum and Uranium from Remote Continental Origin at Pico Summit, Pico Island, Azores, Portugal
- Reactor-ITN, Technological and Nuclear Institute, E.N. 10, 2686-953 Sacavem (Portugal)
- CERENA-IST, Technical University of Lisbon, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal)
- Environmental Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Inoenue Bulvari, 06531 Ankara (Turkey)
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.
- OSTI ID:
- 21152448
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1034, 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); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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