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The effect of environmental parameters on radon concentration measured in an underground dead-end gallery (Vyhne, Slovakia)

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Abstract

Radon concentration was continuously monitored in a horizontal dead-end gallery near Vyhne (Central Slovakia) from October 2005 to April 2008. Hourly average of radon varied from 2800 to 10 500 Bq/m3. Temporal variation of radon, which contains periodic and non-periodic signals, spans variation of annual to diurnal scale. Time series of radon were analyzed together with meteorological parameters. The annual variation of radon seems to be connected with the annual variation of atmospheric pressure. The amplitude and shape of diurnal variation of radon changed during the year and is correlated with corresponding changes in the daily amplitude of atmospheric pressure.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr. Miroslav Ješkovský from the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava for the measurements of mass activities.

Funding

This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency of Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic (project APVV: SK-PT-18–0015), the Scientific Grant Agency of Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic (VEGA project 2/0015/21), and Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) in the framework of the bilateral Portugal-Slovakia project RADCAMIN.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earth Science Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská Cesta 9, 84005, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Iveta Smetanová, Marek Vďačný, Kristian Csicsay & Ľubica Mareková

  2. Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science, Campus da FEUP, Rua Dr Roberto Frias 4200-465, Porto, Portugal

    Susana Alexandra Barbosa, Guilherme Amaral Silva & Carlos Almeida

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  1. Iveta Smetanová
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Correspondence to Iveta Smetanová.

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Smetanová, I., Barbosa, S.A., Vďačný, M. et al. The effect of environmental parameters on radon concentration measured in an underground dead-end gallery (Vyhne, Slovakia). J Radioanal Nucl Chem 332, 1733–1742 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-023-08884-7

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