World-Wide Fallout from OPERATION CASTLE,

Abstract

A world-wide network of gummed film stations was established to monitor fallout following Operation Castle. Although meteorological data were poor, a general connection of tropospheric flow patterns with observed fallout was evident. There was a tendency for debris to remain in tropical latitudes, with incursions into the temperate regions associated with meterological disturbances of the predominately zonal flow. As the season advanced, such incursions became more evident. Outside of the tropics, the southwestern United States received the greatest total fallout, about five times that received in Japan. The total world-wide fallout up to July 1, 1954, from the Castle series outside of the immediate test areas, is estimated to be about (censored) of the total fission activity produced. The maximum fallout on any day at an individual station in the United States, corrected to sampling day, was 200,000 d/m/sq. ft. It is concluded that the probability of early fallout in inhabited regions would be reduced by holding Pacific test series in the winter months.

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 31, 1984
Accession Number
ADA995260

Entities

People

  • R. J. List

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Geographic Regions
  • Grids
  • Latitude
  • Meteorological Data
  • Probability
  • Regions
  • Sampling
  • Temperate Regions
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
  • Nuclear and Radiation Engineering.