Radon exhalation from a ground surface during a cold snow season

摘要

Laboratory experiments on the radon diffusion in frozen soils and field measurements of radon exhalation from the snow-covered ground surface were carried out. The experimental results showed that, when soils were frozen, the effective diffusion coefficient decreased by a factor of about 2. The existence of snow cover considerably reduced the radon exhalation to a few percent of that of no-snow seasons. This reduction can be ascribed to wetting of the snow-soil interface. The 1.2-m-deep snow itself reduced the flux density only by 20% to 30%.