Seminar: Fabian Maier

The properties of the radioactive noble gas radon make it a sensitive tracer for transport and mixing processes in the atmosphere. Therefore, atmospheric transport models, which are responsible for much of the uncertainty in top-down estimates of greenhouse gas emissions, can be validated or calibrated by comparing observed and modelled radon activity concentrations. However, this requires reliable estimates of radon fluxes from the soil. In my talk, I will show that a radon inversion performed with the CarboScope-Regional inversion system leads to robust and data-driven radon flux estimates in Central Europe, which can be used to validate process-based radon flux maps. Furthermore, the inversion results can give some indications on how to improve the process-based radon flux maps.