ANSTO radon measurements at Cape Grim and other global atmospheric monitoring sites
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Date
2015-07-09
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Publisher
University of New South Wales and Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
Abstract
The radon program at the Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station (CGBAPS) in Tasmania is one of the premier atmospheric radon monitoring programs worldwide. The dual-flow-loop two-filter detector design pioneered at ANSTO is recognised within the WMO Global Atmosphere Watch (WMO-GAW) community as providing the international benchmark in radon monitoring for global and regional atmospheric composition studies, and the detectors used at Cape Grim are specifically designed to meet stringent requirements for accuracy and reliability at this demanding location. Radon is an integral part of the overall operation at CGBAPS, and much of the station's science program, so pivotal within the global atmospheric monitoring capability, leverages heavily off its radon component.
ANSTO radon detectors are deployed at numerous other stations within the WMO-GAW network, including remote island, high altitude and Antarctic sites. These instruments are also used in tall tower networks in Europe and America, where their application to calibration of regional emissions and transport modelling in carbon cycle studies has been demonstrated. In the Australian region, recent collaborations with the AAD and CSIRO to establish new radon measurement programs at Macquarie Island, aboard the RV Investigator, and at Gunn Point (NT), represent significant developments in the expansion of CGBAPS' importance as the hub of an Australian and Southern Ocean atmospheric observation network.
The ongoing fruitful relationship between ANSTO and CGBAPS enables advancement of the Cape Grim radon measurement capability, whilst at the same time allowing ANSTO to remain at the leading edge of this field internationally by developing new applications for radon measurements in atmospheric composition and pollution characterisation studies. The need for such measurements is becoming more pronounced as atmospheric monitoring requirements become ever more demanding with respect to precision and geographical coverage, not just for scientific process studies, but also for national and international inventory and accounting requirements.
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Keywords
ANSTO, Radon, Monitoring, Radiation monitoring, Atmospheric chemistry, Tasmania, Australia
Citation
Williams, A. G., & Chambers, S. (2015). ANSTO radon measurements at Cape Grim and other global atmospheric monitoring sites. Presentation to the 13th Australasian Environment Isotope Conference (AEIC), Sydney, 8-10th July 2015. (pp. 55).