OPERATION CENIZA-ARENA: THE RETENTION OF FALLOUT PARTICLES FROM VOLCAN IRAZU (COSTA RICA) BY PLANTS AND PEOPLE. PART TWO

Abstract

This report summarizes the foliar contamination data obtained in the second phase of Operation Ceniza-Arena in Costa Rica, Central America. Measurements were made of the retention of airborne particles (ejected by Volcan Irazu) by the foliage of thirteen different vegetable plants (including corn), four different cereal grains, and six different kinds of trees. Data were obtained on both the initial contamination of the foliage and the reduction in contamination levels by wind and rain. The crops were grown at two land plots. Additional measurements included surface air temperatures, humidity, wind speed, particle size distributions, projected areas of leaves and other plant parts, planting density, composition and density of the particles, soluble salt content of the particles, contamination of persons, and particle fall trajectories. Depending on meteorological conditions and planting density, the fraction of the particles initially retained by the foliage was found to vary from almost nil to 100 percent. All plants retained at least some of all the airborne particles that arrived at the land plots, including the largest.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1966
Accession Number
AD0659384

Entities

People

  • Carl F. Miller

Organizations

  • SRI International

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acids
  • Alkanes
  • Chemical Elements
  • Cloud Cover
  • Costa Rica
  • Field Equipment
  • Geometric Forms
  • Geometry
  • Measurement
  • Particle Size
  • Particles
  • Planting
  • Plants
  • Plastic Explosives
  • Tree Canopy
  • Two Dimensional
  • Vegetables

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Agricultural Chemistry/Soil Science
  • Vector-Borne Disease and Entomology