Orientador: Marcos Fernando de Souza Teixeira / Resumo: Os principais objetivos desse trabalho, que envolve importantes áreas da ciência como química, física nuclear e geologia, são quantificar as atividades de gás radônio e concentração de chumbo total em regiões específicas do Brasil e Portugal, além de elaborar mapas indicativos do teor geogênico desses elementos em regiões de falhas geológicas. As zonas de falha geológica são regiões onde ocorreram fraturamentos e esmagamentos intensos de rocha e possuem a característica intrínseca de liberarem maior quantidade de gás Rn. As regiões de falhas também podem ser alvo de estudos voltados à quantificação de metais, principalmente de chumbo (Pb) por estar inserido na série natural de decaimento radioativo do urânio. As amostras de solo e rocha foram coletadas de acordo com estudos prévios em dois cenários, o primeiro abrange regiões específicas de Portugal (Sangemil e Oliveira do Hospital) e o segundo cenário refere-se ao município de Presidente Prudente, estado de São Paulo, Brasil. As amostras foram analisadas utilizando-se de algumas técnicas como: espectrometria com detector de germânio de alta resolução, onde quantificou-se as atividades de 235U, 228Ac, 226Ra, 210Pb, 212Pb, 214Pb, 212Bi, 214Bi, 234Pa, 208Tl e 40K; medidor Alpha Guard instalado em contentores metálicos onde determinou-se o coeficiente de emanação por meio das concentrações de Rn e Ra; medidor Alpha Guard e câmara de ionização que possibilitou quantificar Rn e U in situ, análise eletroquímica via técnica de volta... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The main objectives of this work, that involve important areas of science such as chemistry, nuclear physics and geology, are to quantify uranium, radon gas and total lead concentration in specific areas from Brazil and Portugal, and to prepare geogenic maps indicating the content of these elements in geological faults regions. The geologic fault zones are regions where fractures and intense crushing of the rock occurred, with varying thickness in centimeters until kilometers. Due to the intrinsic characteristic of releasing a larger amount of Rn gas, geological fault regions can also be the target of studies aimed at the quantification of metals, mainly lead (Pb), as it is included in the natural decay series of uranium. Soil and rock samples were collected according to previous studies in two scenarios, the first covering specific regions of Portugal (Sangemil and Oliveira do Hospital) and the second scenario refers to Presidente Prudente municipality, state of São Paulo, Brazil. The samples were analyzed using some techniques such as HPGe detector, where the activities of 235U, 228Ac, 226Ra, 210Pb, 212Pb, 214Pb, 212Bi, 214Bi, 234Pa, 208Tl and 40K were quantified; Alpha Guard installed in metal containers where the emanation coefficient was determined by the Rn and Ra concentrations ; Alpha Guard and ionization chamber that possibilited to quantify Rn and U in situ and Anodic Stripping Voltammetry that the total Pb content of the samples was measured. The radionuclides acti... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

<p>In the natural decay series of 238U an inert radioactive gas, 222Rn (radon) is formed in the decay of 226Ra. Because radon is relatively soluble in water, it migrates from places of its generation in rocks and soils to other places either by soil air, or travels with underground water. Therefore, there is a growing interest among hydrogeologists in using radon as a natural tracer for investigating and managing fresh water reservoirs. This work is aimed at investigating and developing radon-in-water measuring techniques applicable to aquifers and rivers. A gamma-ray spectrometry method using a hyper-pure germanium (HPGe) detector, based at iThemba LABS, Cape Town and Marinelli beakers, has been optimized to measure radon in borehole water via the g-rays associated with the decay of radon daughters 214Pb and 214Bi (in secular equilibrium with their parent). An accuracy better than 5% was achieved. Moreover, long-term measurements of radon in water from an iThemba LABS borehole have been carried out to investigate the role of radon for characterizing aquifers. These investigations led to the development of a simplified physical model that reproduces the time-evolution of radon concentration with borehole pumping and may be used to estimate the time for representative sampling of the aquifer. A novel method is also proposed in this thesis to measure radon-in-water in the field after grab sampling - a so-called quasi in-situ method. The quasi in-situ method involves inserting a y-ray detector in a container of large volume filled with water of interest. The g-ray spectra are analyzed using an approach involving energy intervals on the high-energy part of the spectrum (1.3 &ndash / 3.0 MeV). Each energy interval corresponds to contributions from one of the major g-ray sources: 40K and the decay series of 238U and 232Th, and cosmic rays. It is assumed that the U interval will be dominated by g-rays emitted from the radon daughters (214Pb and 214Bi). Minor contributions to an interval with major radionuclide are corrected using an MCNPX simulated standard spectra. The two methods in this thesis make a significant contribution to measuring and modelling of radon in aquifers and surface waters. It forms a basis for further development in an interactive mode with hydrological applications.</p>

published_or_final_version / Radioisotope / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Radioisotope Techniques / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

A robust data interpolation method using curvelets frames is presented. The advantage of this method is that curvelets arguably provide an optimal sparse representation for solutions of wave equations with smooth coefficients. As such curvelets frames circumvent - besides the assumption of caustic-free data - the necessity to make parametric assumptions (e.g. through linear/parabolic Radon or demigration) regarding the shape of events in seismic data. A brief sketch of the theory is provided as well as a number of examples on synthetic and real data.

<p>In the natural decay series of 238U an inert radioactive gas, 222Rn (radon) is formed in the decay of 226Ra. Because radon is relatively soluble in water, it migrates from places of its generation in rocks and soils to other places either by soil air, or travels with underground water. Therefore, there is a growing interest among hydrogeologists in using radon as a natural tracer for investigating and managing fresh water reservoirs. This work is aimed at investigating and developing radon-in-water measuring techniques applicable to aquifers and rivers. A gamma-ray spectrometry method using a hyper-pure germanium (HPGe) detector, based at iThemba LABS, Cape Town and Marinelli beakers, has been optimized to measure radon in borehole water via the g-rays associated with the decay of radon daughters 214Pb and 214Bi (in secular equilibrium with their parent). An accuracy better than 5% was achieved. Moreover, long-term measurements of radon in water from an iThemba LABS borehole have been carried out to investigate the role of radon for characterizing aquifers. These investigations led to the development of a simplified physical model that reproduces the time-evolution of radon concentration with borehole pumping and may be used to estimate the time for representative sampling of the aquifer. A novel method is also proposed in this thesis to measure radon-in-water in the field after grab sampling - a so-called quasi in-situ method. The quasi in-situ method involves inserting a y-ray detector in a container of large volume filled with water of interest. The g-ray spectra are analyzed using an approach involving energy intervals on the high-energy part of the spectrum (1.3 &ndash / 3.0 MeV). Each energy interval corresponds to contributions from one of the major g-ray sources: 40K and the decay series of 238U and 232Th, and cosmic rays. It is assumed that the U interval will be dominated by g-rays emitted from the radon daughters (214Pb and 214Bi). Minor contributions to an interval with major radionuclide are corrected using an MCNPX simulated standard spectra. The two methods in this thesis make a significant contribution to measuring and modelling of radon in aquifers and surface waters. It forms a basis for further development in an interactive mode with hydrological applications.</p>

No description available.

Zugl.: Köln, University, Diss., 2008.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-71). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992.