Assessment of regional atmospheric transport model performance using 222Radon observations

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dc.contributor.authorKarstens, Uen_AU
dc.contributor.authorLevin, Ien_AU
dc.contributor.authorRamonet, Men_AU
dc.contributor.authorGerbig, Cen_AU
dc.contributor.authorArnold, Sen_AU
dc.contributor.authorConil, Sen_AU
dc.contributor.authorDella Coletta, Jen_AU
dc.contributor.authorFrumau, Aen_AU
dc.contributor.authorGheusi, Fen_AU
dc.contributor.authorKazan Ven_AU
dc.contributor.authorKubistin, Den_AU
dc.contributor.authorLindauer, Men_AU
dc.contributor.authorLopez, Men_AU
dc.contributor.authorMaurer, Len_AU
dc.contributor.authorMihalopoulos, Nen_AU
dc.contributor.authorPichon, JMen_AU
dc.contributor.authorSpain, Gen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2024-02-21T01:22:46Zen_AU
dc.date.available2024-02-21T01:22:46Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2020-05-04en_AU
dc.date.statistics2023-11en_AU
dc.descriptionNote Scott Chambers has been omitted from the Author list, but he appears on the attached presentation.en_AU
dc.description.abstractThe rather short life time of 222Radon of 5.5 days makes this radioactive noble gas an almost ideal tracer of atmospheric transport processes. 222Radon, the gaseous progeny of 226Radium, which is a trace constituent of all soils, can escape the soil grains and make its way from the unsaturated soil zone into the atmosphere. The exhalation rate of 222Radon from continental surfaces depends on soil type and permeability, but is orders of magnitude larger than that from ocean surfaces. Therefore, the atmospheric 222Radon activity concentration can be used as a measure of the residence time of air over continental surfaces or to distinguish continental from marine air masses. At continental sites, the short-term variability of 222Radon is mainly determined by diurnal or synoptic-scale boundary layer mixing processes. If its continental exhalation rate is known, 222Radon can even be applied as a quantitative tracer for evaluating regional scale transport model performance. In the present study we use 222Radon activity concentration measurements from the ICOS atmospheric station network and STILT transport model results to assess the ability of this routinely used model to correctly simulate the (diurnal) variation of boundary layer transport. This uncertainty assessment is an important step towards reliable estimates of the contribution of transport model error in GHGs inversion studies that aim at providing accurate fluxes from inversion of atmospheric GHGs observations in ICOS. © Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.en_AU
dc.identifier.citationKarstens, U., Levin, I., Ramonet, M., Gerbig, C., Arnold, S., Conil, S., Della Coletta, J., Frumau, A., Gheusi, F., Kazan, V., Kubistin, D., Lindauer, M., Lopez, M., Maurer, L., Mihalopoulos, N., Pichon, J.-M., & Spain, G. (2020). Assessment of regional atmospheric transport model performance using 222Radon observations. Presentation to the EGU General Assembly Conference, Online, 4 - 8 May, 2020, EGU2020-10467. doi:10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-10467en_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceenddate2020-05-08en_AU
dc.identifier.conferencenameEGU General Assembly 2020en_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceplaceOnlineen_AU
dc.identifier.conferencestartdate2020-05-04en_AU
dc.identifier.otherEGU2020-10467en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/handle/10238/15373en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherEuropean Geosciences Union (EGU)en_AU
dc.relation.ispartofseriesEGU2020-10467.en_AU
dc.relation.urihttps://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-10467en_AU
dc.subjectRadon 222en_AU
dc.subjectEnvironmental transporten_AU
dc.subjectSoilsen_AU
dc.subjectSurfacesen_AU
dc.subjectAtmospheresen_AU
dc.subjectConcentration ratioen_AU
dc.subjectAiren_AU
dc.subjectBoundary layersen_AU
dc.titleAssessment of regional atmospheric transport model performance using 222Radon observationsen_AU
dc.typeConference Booken_AU
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