[ RadSafe ] AVIATION RADIATION EXPERIMENT--UPDATE

[Mattias Lantz]

This is very interesting, but what about the dose rates given in the 
figure? 174 micro-Sv/hr sounds very high. On a flight back from Japan I 
used a bGeigie Nano from Safecast. It only records gamma and beta with 
some accuracy (optimized for Cs-137), other charged particles will be 
recorded of course though some corrections would have to be made. The 
peak value I recorded over northern Russia was about 4 micro-Sv/hr. But 
I really doubt that the neutron dose would contribute to such high 
values, anything above 10-20 micro-Sv/hr sounds like too high. Is it an 
error in conversion from muR/hr to muSv/hr?

Best wishes,
Mattias Lantz

-- 
Mattias Lantz - Researcher, PhD
ランツ マティアス
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Division of Applied Nuclear Physics
Uppsala University, Box 516
SE - 751 20, Uppsala, Sweden
phone:  +46-(0)18-471-3754
cell:   +46-(0)730-454-384
fax:    +46-(0)18-471-5999
email:  mattias.lantz at physics.uu.se



On 03/12/2016 03:11 AM, S L Gawarecki wrote:
>  From spaceweather.com
>
> En route to observe the March 9th total eclipse in Indonesia, the students
> of Earth to Sky Calculus
> <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Earth-to-Sky-Calculus/174490502634920>
> conducted an unusual experiment in aviation radiation. Their plane flew a
> great circle around the Pacific Ocean, skirting the Arctic Circle and
> crossing the equator in a relatively short period of time. Onboard the
> plane, they carried a cosmic ray balloon payload equipped with multiple
> radiation sensors. This allowed them to "take a snapshot" of dose rates
> over a wide range of latitudes. Preliminary results on a route map can be
> viewed at http://spaceweather.com/ for March 12 (you may have to consult
> the archive if you look at this later).
>
> Throughout the trip, the plane was flying not far above 30,000 feet
> altitude. Students measured a 2:1 ratio of dose rates, Arctic vs. equator.
>
> Researchers have long known that Earth's magnetic field near the equator
> provides a greater degree of protection against cosmic rays than Earth's
> magnetic field near the poles. This experiment answers the question, "How
> much greater?" (About 2 times.) It also builds upon Earth to Sky's ongoing
> study <http://news.spaceweather.com/rads-on-a-plane-may-oct-2015/> of
> aviation radiation which, before now, has been limited to latitudes inside
> the continental USA.
>
> Radiation inside airplanes comes from deep space. Galactic cosmic rays are
> accelerated toward our planet by supernova explosions and other violent
> events in the cosmos. They penetrate the walls of aircraft with ease and
> have prompted the International Commission on Radiological Protection
> (ICRP) to classify pilots as occupational radiation workers.
> The students are about to return to the United States, following
> approximately the same route in reverse. Will their preliminary results be
> confirmed?
>
> Regards,
> *Susan Gawarecki*
>
> ph: 865-494-0102
> cell:  865-604-3724
> SLGawarecki at gmail.com
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