Eur. Phys. J. Special Topics 224, 597–603 (2015)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2015-02393-y

Editorial

Radon applications in geosciences – Progress & perspectives

¹ INESC TEC – INESC Technology and Science, Porto, Portugal
² Instituto Dom Luiz, Lisboa, Portugal
³ Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam, Germany
⁴ Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel

^a e-mail: susana.a.barbosa@inesctec.pt
^b e-mail: reik.donner@pik-potsdam.de
^c e-mail: steinitz@gsi.gov.il

Abstract

During the last decades, the radioactive noble gas radon has found a variety of geoscientific applications, ranging from its utilization as a potential earthquake precursor and proxy of tectonic stress over its specific role in volcanic environments to a wide range of applications as a tracer in marine and hydrological settings. This topical issue summarizes the current state of research as exemplified by some original research articles covering the aforementioned as well as other closely related aspects and points to some important future directions of radon application in geosciences. This editorial provides a more detailed overview of the contents of this volume, a brief summary of the rationale underlying the diverse applications, and outlines some important perspectives.