Investigation of snow cover effects and attenuation correction of ray in aerial radiation monitoring

Ishizaki, Azusa  ; Sanada, Yukihisa   ; Mori, Airi; Imura, Mitsuo; Ishida, Mutsushi; Munakata, Masahiro 

In aerial radiation monitoring (ARM), the air dose rate cannot be appropriately estimated under snowy conditions due to attenuation of ray by the snow layer. A technique to address this issue is required for ARM to obtain enough signals for air dose rate. To develop this technique, we investigated the relationship between snow depth and ARM measurement results using ARM, laser imaging detection and ranging, and ground measurement before and after snowfall. From the measured data, the results obtained using three different correction factors were examined and compared. An appropriate correction improved the underestimation of the air dose rate. However, further improvement in the accuracy of the analysis require accurate estimation of the snow water equivalent.