A simple method to monitor the dose rate of secondary cosmic radiation at altitude

Monitoring the ambient dose equivalent rate at aviation altitudes is an ambitious task, which
requires sophisticated dosemeter systems and the possibility to carry out such measurements on board
aircraft. A rather simple approach has been investigated in this study: soundings with weather
balloons up to an altitude of 30  km. This paper summarises the measurements carried out between 2011
and 2016. The results indicate that annual measurements of the ambient dose equivalent rate at
altitudes of around 20  km are a reliable tool to monitor the variation of the dose rate in the
atmosphere owing to the solar activity.

Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - December 20, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: F Wissmann and Th Klages Source Type: research