ON THE PRODUCTION OF RADIOISOTOPES IN THE ATMOSPHERE BY COSMIC RADIATION AND THEIR APPLICATION TO METEOROLOGY

Journal Article · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1958 · J. Atmospheric and Terrest. Phys.

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9169(58)90062-X· OSTI ID:4024001

Lal, D; Malhorta, P K; Peters, B

Cosmic radiation produces various radioisotopes in the atmosphere which are efficiently collected during the condensation of moisture and can be detected in rain water. the production rates of various radioisotopes, mainly those whose half lives make them suitable for studying meteorological phenomena, have been calculated for all parts of the atmosphere and are presented in graphical form. For the isotope, Be/sup 10/, whose half life is long compared to the characteristic time of mixing between the stratosphere and the troposphere, the fall-out rate agrees with the calculated production rate. For the isotopes Be/ sup 7/ P/sup 33/, and P/sup 32/, whose half lives are short compared to the characteristic time of mixing between the stratosphere and the troposphere, the measured fall-out rates agree with the calculations, provided one assumes that only the activity produced in the troposphere appears in rain-water and contributions from air irradiated in the stratosphere are comparatively rare, and that the mean period, between successive removals of radioisotopes from air masses, is about 1 month. Tentative measurements on the fall-out of S/sup 35/ activity indicate an appreciably higher rate than calculated. It is shown that the relative concentrations of any two radioisotopes with appreciably different half lives, in a particular rain, do not depend on the local meteorological conditions, but only on the latitude and altitude at which the air mass was irradiated and can therefore be used as labels to trace the history of air-masses. The study of such isotope ratios in individual precipitations can, therefore, lead to useful meteorological information. (auth)

• Research Organization: Tata Inst. of Fundamental Research, Bombay
• NSA Number: NSA-15-017141
• OSTI ID: 4024001
• Journal Information: J. Atmospheric and Terrest. Phys., Journal Name: J. Atmospheric and Terrest. Phys. Vol. Vol: 12
• Country of Publication: Country unknown/Code not available
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ADSORPTION
AIR
ATMOSPHERE
BERYLLIUM 10
BERYLLIUM 7
COSMIC RADIATION
DIAGRAMS
DISTRIBUTION
FALLOUT
GEOLOGY, MINERALOGY, AND METEOROLOGY
HALF-LIFE
LEVELS
METEOROLOGY
MIXING
PHOSPHORUS 32
PHOSPHORUS 33
PRODUCTION
QUANTITY RATIO
RADIOACTIVITY
RADIOISOTOPES
RAIN
STRATOSPHERE
SULFUR 35
TRACER TECHNIQUES
USES