https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-025-01536-9
Regular Article
Examining radon levels in soil gas and atmospheric air near the soil–air interface
1
Faculty of Physics, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia, Bulgaria
2
Mining and Geology University “St. Ivan Rilski”, Sofia, Bulgaria
Received:
28
June
2024
Accepted:
17
February
2025
Published online:
28
February
2025
Data on the distribution of 222Rn in soil and air near the soil-air interface is limited but crucial for understanding 222Rn exhalation from the soil and addressing methodological challenges in measuring 222Rn exhalation rates. Studying this distribution requires small 222Rn detectors that are sensitive to local concentrations and do not disturb 222Rn levels. A recent advancement in this field involves a new generation of highly sensitive 222Rn detectors that couple a solid-state track detector (SSNTD) with an activated carbon fabric radon adsorber/radiator. This development has enabled progress in detecting 222Rn distribution. This study presents experimental results from a pilot study on 222Rn concentrations in soil gas and atmospheric air near the soil-air interface. Key findings include: (1) A 222Rn gradient may refract near the soil surface, indicating a sudden change in the radon diffusion coefficient in soil; (2) A reshaping of the 222Rn concentration profile was observed beneath a soil surface covered by an “accumulation volume,” suggesting a potential bias in radon exhalation rate estimates using the “accumulation volume” method; (3) Under stable weather conditions without air turbulence, 222Rn concentrations can be relatively high in the first few centimeters above the ground, decreasing with height.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
