A - C
type: Concept

BPL
in scheme: projects
definition: Short Title: RadTrace Proposal URL: http://classic.ipy.org/development/eoi/proposal-details.php?id=443 Radionuclides can serve as valuable tracers of atmospheric and terrestrial transport processes, which will be altered by changing climate patterns. This project is anchored in the existing Health Canada radiological monitoring network operated throughout Canada. The network includes seven Arctic sites equipped with high volume samplers for airborne particulates. Two of these sites are also equipped for noble gas collection and one site is equipped with a continuous gamma radiation monitor. In addition to the primary functions of supporting of the Canadian Federal Nuclear Emergency Plan and the international Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the network provides regular measurements of a wide range of naturally-occurring radionuclide concentrations in air. Heavy metals and some organic compounds will also be measured in airborne particulates collected by the air samplers. An archive of air filters extending back to the early 1970s will allow the elucidation of time trends in these contaminants. The Health Canada air monitoring network covers an area extending from 55o to 83o North Latitude and 60o to 135o West Longitude, representing a large fraction of the entire land mass in the North polar region. Data from the Canadian network will supplemented with similar data collected by collaborators in other countries notably Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Germany. Ground-based sample collections will also be carried out in the Canadian north to gain a better understanding of the deposition of atmospheric contaminants and their movement through food chains leading to humans. The objectives of this project are: -Establish an international database for sharing data between monitoring networks in collaborating countries. -Develop and extend atmospheric transport models to trace the movement of radionuclides and other contaminants from sources in temperate zones to remote A…
type: Concept