Snow gaging by airborne radiological surveys, status through September 1972

Technical Report · Fri Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1972

OSTI ID:5325479

Burson, Z G; Fritzsche, A E

The real average of water equivalent of snow cover can be measured to an accuracy of {plus minus} 0.9 g/cm{sup 2} or 6%, whichever is greater, using airborne radiation measurements of the natural gamma radiation emanating from the soil. The current state-of-the-art of this research program and the hydrologic interpretation are close to operational status. Both a gross count (counting of all photons) and a peak area (counts under the photopeak in the gamma energy spectrum) method are used. Improvements in both accuracy and spatial resolution should result from using a dual detector system in which one detector preferentially looks'' up, to account for the airborne radiation daughter contributions. 16 refs., 13 figs., 3 tabs.

• Research Organization: EG and G, Inc., Las Vegas, NV (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC08-76NV01183
• OSTI ID: 5325479
• Report Number(s): EGG-1183-1565; ON: DE91018213
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

440103 -- Radiation Instrumentation-- Nuclear Spectroscopic Instrumentation
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540230* -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
58 GEOSCIENCES
580000 -- Geosciences
AERIAL SURVEYING
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
ATTENUATION
BACKGROUND RADIATION
CALIBRATION
COMPILED DATA
COSMIC RADIATION
DATA
DATA ACQUISITION
DAUGHTER PRODUCTS
DETECTION
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE
FLUIDS
GAMMA DETECTION
GAMMA RADIATION
GAMMA SPECTRA
GASES
GEOGRAPHY
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
GROUND COVER
GROUND TRUTH
GROUND WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROLOGY
INFORMATION
IONIZING RADIATIONS
ISOTOPES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MEASURING METHODS
METEOROLOGY
NAI DETECTORS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NONMETALS
NUMERICAL DATA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POROSITY
RADIATION DETECTION
RADIATION DETECTORS
RADIATIONS
RADIOMETRIC SURVEYS
RADON
RARE GASES
RECOMMENDATIONS
REMOTE SENSING
SCINTILLATION COUNTERS
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
SNOW
SOILS
SOLID SCINTILLATION DETECTORS
SPECTRA
SURFACE WATERS
SURVEYS
TOPOGRAPHY
US NOAA
US ORGANIZATIONS
VARIATIONS
WATER