The deposition of beryllium 7 and phosphorus 32 in precipitation at north temperate latitudes

The concentrations of Be7 and P32 in fourteen precipitation samples from Westwood, N.J., have been measured for the purpose of studying the mechanisms involved in the deposition of natural and artifically produced radioactivity. After due allowances were made for rainfall amounts it was calculated that the deposition of these nuclides at temperate latitudes did not differ greatly from that found in the tropical regions, namely in India. Observed rates of deposition also agreed quite well with those calculated on the basis of the entire production of Be7 and P32 within the troposphere. In some instances the observed ratios of Be7/P32 did not exclude the possibility of incursion of recent stratospheric air into the air masses from which the radioactivity was derived.