The flux of radon and thoron from Australian soils

The accumulator technique was used to measure radon and thoron flux density at a variety of locations throughout Australia. This is the first such systematic study of Australia and, in the case of thoron, one of few such studies of any large land mass. Seasonally adjusted arithmetic mean flux densities from Australian soils were estimated to be 22 mBq m −2 s −1 (1.05 atom cm −2 s −1 ) for radon and 1.7 Bq m −2 s −1 (0.0135 atom cm −2 s −1 ) for thoron. Consideration of statistical sampling error, and systematic error with the accumulator method, leads to an error estimate of about ±20% for these numbers; projection of total flux to the atmosphere requires consideration of additional sources of error. Only modest correlations with variables easily measured in the field were observed. The strongest correlation was a positive one between flux density and gamma dose rate 1 m above ground. Weaker correlations were seen with soil temperature (positive) and soil moisture (negative at higher moistures). Radon and thoron flux density were strongly correlated, but only a weak correlation (negative) existed between them and vegetation. The amount of radon isotope released to the pore space seems particularly important for controlling the wide variation in observed flux densities, but it remains difficult to predict flux densities based on simple field measurements or information in conventional soil and geological maps.