Using radon–222 to distinguish between vertical transport processes affecting trace gas measurements at Jungfraujoch in the Swiss Alps

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dc.contributor.authorGriffiths, ADen_AU
dc.contributor.authorConen, Fen_AU
dc.contributor.authorWingartner, Een_AU
dc.contributor.authorZimmermann, Len_AU
dc.contributor.authorWilliams, AGen_AU
dc.contributor.authorSteinbacheren_AU
dc.date.accessioned2022-08-30T22:44:59Zen_AU
dc.date.available2022-08-30T22:44:59Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2015-07-09en_AU
dc.date.statistics2022-01-11en_AU
dc.description.abstractSeveral globally-significant trace gases are measured continuously at Jungfrajoch, a key baseline monitoring station in the Swiss Alps. Often this is with the aim of characterising trends in regional-to-hemispheric composition and fluxes. The site is high, 3 km above the surrounding plateau, and usually measures well-mixed air which has travelled far from emission sources. Having said that, there are also periods of rapid vertical transport which bring air from nearby valleys to the site. During these periods trace gas measurements no longer represent large scale conditions, so it is important to have a method which can detect them. Several distinct processes can drive vertical transport; on clear summer days, especially when winds are weak, thermally-driven upslope mountain winds (anabatic winds) are prevalent. Using hourly radon-222 observations, we identified days with a strong local influence from the radon concentration and used the shape of the diurnal cycle to sort days according to the strength of anabatic winds. Radon is ideal as tracer of continental air masses because it is emitted from soil at a relatively constant rate, it is chemically inert, and decays with a half-life of 3.8 days. Because of its short half-life, radon concentrations are much lower in the free troposphere than in the boundary-layer air over land. For comparable radon concentrations, anabatic wind days at Jungfraujoch are different from non-anabatic days in terms of the average wind speed, humidity, air temperature anomalies, and trace species; with implications for long term monitoring at mountain sites. en_AU
dc.description.sponsorshipAustralian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)en_AU
dc.identifier.booktitle13th Australasian Environmental Isotope Conference, Sydney, Australia, 8-10th July 2015, Programme and Abstractsen_AU
dc.identifier.citationGriffiths, A., Conen, F., Weingartner, E., Zimmermann, L., Chambers, S., Williams, A. G., & Steinbacher, M. (2015). Using radon–222 to distinguish between vertical transport processes affecting trace gas measurements at Jungfraujoch in the Swiss Alps. Presentation to the 13th Australasian Environment Isotope Conference (AEIC), Sydney, 8-10th July 2015. In 13th Australasian Environmental Isotope Conference, Sydney, Australia, 8-10th July 2015, Programme and Abstracts, (pp. 56).en_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceenddate10 July 2015en_AU
dc.identifier.conferencename13th Australasian Environment Isotope Conference (AEIC)en_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceplaceSydney, Australiaen_AU
dc.identifier.conferencestartdate8 July 2015en_AU
dc.identifier.pagination56en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/handle/10238/13691en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherUniversity of New South Wales and Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisationen_AU
dc.subjectRadon 222en_AU
dc.subjectEnvironmental transporten_AU
dc.subjectGasesen_AU
dc.subjectAlpsen_AU
dc.subjectSwitzerlanden_AU
dc.titleUsing radon–222 to distinguish between vertical transport processes affecting trace gas measurements at Jungfraujoch in the Swiss Alpsen_AU
dc.typeConference Abstracten_AU
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