FISSION PRODUCT RADIOACTIVITY IN THE AIR ALONG THE 80TH MERIDIAN (WEST) DURING 1960

Abstract

Since 1956, the U. S. NRL has had a continuing study of radioactivity in air along the 80th meridian (West). The year 1960 brought progressive decreases in airborne fission product radioactivity. The activity levels in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres gave indications of approaching equilibrium. However, 2 years after the cessation of the major nuclear test programs, differences in the fission product compositions of the two hemispheres still exist. The relatively small amounts of radioactivity generated by the French nuclear tests in the Sahara produced only transient effects at a few sites along the 80th meridian. Fission product ratios involving some of the shorter-lived fission products did document the presence of debris from the February 1960 test in a band extending from Miami, Florida, to Grayaquil, Ecuador, with the suggestion that small amounts of debris did appear in other areas.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 24, 1961
Accession Number
AD0268608

Entities

People

  • L. B. Lockhart Jr.
  • R. L. Patterson Jr.

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Altitude
  • Detection
  • Energy
  • Fission Product Activity
  • Fission Products
  • Government Procurement
  • Governments
  • Ground Level
  • Hemispheres
  • High Altitude
  • Low Altitude
  • Measurement
  • Natural Radioactivity
  • Nuclear Energy
  • Radioactivity
  • Southern Hemisphere
  • Standards

Readers

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  • International Relations, focusing on Korea-Africa and North Korea-South Korea relations, and Nigeria-Latin American Relations.
  • Nuclear and Radiation Engineering.