2003 Volume 72 Issue 4 Pages 422-426
Radon is a useful natural radioactive tracer of air transportation of atmospheric pollution, since radon is a noble gas and chemically inert. The atmospheric radon concentration is usually measured by a high-sensitivity electrostatic collection method or a two-filter method. The variations of radon concentrations observed over a solitary island and in the upper atmosphere are suitable for comparing with those of air pollutants. Some numerical simulation models were used to study the radon global transport in the atmosphere. In East Asia, atmospheric radon and air pollutants are transported with the air stream from the continent of China to the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It is necessary to clarify the transport mechanism from both radon observations at various locations and numerical simulation.
