Comparison between the Spectra of Gamma Radiation for Climate Dry Periods and Rainy in the Southeast of Brazil
Abstract
Through this work, present themselves the results obtained for the spectra of ionizing radiation (X-rays and gamma) environmental southeast Brazil for the periods of dry and rainy climate, respectively. One of the objectives this work is promoting through analysis of the results a better understand, in the educational area, the physical processes related to the background radiation of the places where measurements were made. In Brazil, there is still little information about the radiation from soil, radon gas atmospheric, cosmic and artificial origin. Measurements of gamma radiation spectra were performed with a scintillator of NaI (Tl) (volume 300 cm3) mounted within an aluminum cell and coupled to a photomultiplier tube, which in turn is coupled through an interface to specify a notebook for storage of data. The measurement of X and gamma rays photons occur of way omnidirectional without distinction as to direction. The data acquisition was performed at fixed intervals of 1 minute continuously for the entire period of dry climate (June to October) and rainy (December 2012 to January 2013). Figures 1 and 2 show the results obtained for both periods, dry and rainy, respectively. Regarding the graph of Figure 1, is evidenced a cycle of 24 hours in the radiation spectrum. In this period without rain the radiation increases always between sunrise sunset until 11 - 12 hours local, due to the increased presence of radon gas (222Rn) which decays after 3.8 days in 214Pb and 214Bi, emitting photons in the range of energy the detector is measuring (0.030 to 3.0 MeV). The graph in Figure 2 shows that during the rainy period, there was a significant increase in radiation intensity, in addition to that already shown in the dry times that for certain time intervals. This increase is due to when occurs precipitation, the amount of radon gas increases because of the phenomenon of washing the lower atmosphere where the gas is suspended and diluted in water droplets. In the rainy period, the periodicity that is present in the spectrum of the dry climate is practically destroyed due to the interference of photons gamma of radon gas from the rain.
- Publication:
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AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- May 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUSM.A31A..24G
- Keywords:
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- 7984 SPACE WEATHER / Space radiation environment