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Southern Hemisphere April 2018 Background Level Report
Station location
http://sccc.org.au/monitoring/Australian-Map.jpg
This short animation of Northern and Southern Hemisphere air circulation, shows why we can get detections so far south.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh011eAYjAA
This month the GammaScout Geiger Counter used for data logging local background, developed a fault. I managed to get it working again, but in the process lost some day average logging data, hence the gap in the chart.
April month averages tend to vary from year to year by a significant amount. As the Southern Hemisphere winter approaches, air flows here swing a lot between Northern Tropic air to Southern Ocean air flows. If we get more tropical air in April the background goes up. If there are more Southern Ocean air flows, the month average goes down. Since Fukushima, this has become a dynamic of the local background monitoring. If you look at the charts on the yearly average background page, link below, you can clearly see an annual winter background dip showing up in the year and month background charts.
http://sccc.org.au/yearly-average-background-radiation-levels
April 2018 day average background chart,
Caloundra April month average, year comparisons.
2018 24% above pre-Fukushima average
2017 11% above pre-Fukushima average
2016 33% above pre-Fukushima average
2015 6% above pre-Fukushima average
2014 22% above pre-Fukushima average
2013 9% above pre-Fukushima average
2012 12% above pre-Fukushima average
Cairns April Report – Fairly level, without any spikes. (Cairns has two monitoring Geiger counters.)
http://sccc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Cairns-April-2018.jpg
Disclaimer: This is an amateur volunteer run service. Human error can provide incorrect information, and equipment malfunction can produce false readings. Do not rely on, or take action upon information presented on this web site, without further research.
2018/04/01 at 4:03 pm
Southern Hemisphere March 2018 Background Level Report
Station location
http://sccc.org.au/monitoring/Australian-Map.jpg
This short animation of Northern and Southern Hemisphere air circulation, shows why we can get detections so far south.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh011eAYjAA
The stats are in, and March 2018 had the highest recorded March background ever recorded here, at 46% above average. What is creating these Southern Hemisphere increases? Fukushima atmospheric contamination? Increases cosmic rays? Radon releases, or combination of all off these?
Alert Caloundra 27th March 2018 – In the morning the GammaScout Geiger counter started to alarm on and off very quickly. One visual observation showed a spike of 0.625 uSv/hr. Looking at all the very short duration high detections I have been seeing recently, it suggests to me that I am detecting lots of hot particles in the atmosphere. If I didn’t have 60 second sampling and a 0.30 uSv/hr alarm setting in place, I would probably have missed these detections. They would have been hidden in the averages, because they are of such a short duration.
The 24hr 60 second logging chart shows numerous short duration peaks between 8.30 am and 11.30 am.
http://sccc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Caloundra-24-hour-chart-270318.jpg
At the time we had one low pressure system sitting off the East coast plus another in North Queensland, look at the wind map link below. The wind map shows the local air mass at the time was coming off the Pacific Ocean. The main source appeared to be a high pressure system situated East of New Zealand. The air from it was being drawn into these two lows. This air flow was passing over this location at the time. My present theory is that contaminated air was drawn down from the upper atmosphere to the surface, by this high pressure system.
The wind direction at the time was South Easterly, off the Pacific Ocean! It was an overcast, but a fine day.
https://earth.nullschool.net/#2018/03/27/0600Z/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-192.66,-35.51,1343/loc=146.465,4.276
On the 27th March Radon levels where relatively low.
http://sccc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ThereminoGeiger_2018_03_27_21_16_00.png
March 2018 day average background chart, (What the bar chart colour codes mean.)
Caloundra March month average, year comparisons.
2018 46% above pre-Fukushima average
2017 38% above pre-Fukushima average
2016 39% above pre-Fukushima average
2015 33% above pre-Fukushima average
2014 31% above pre-Fukushima average
2013 32% above pre-Fukushima average
2012 24% above pre-Fukushima average
Year and month average local background radiation levels from 2007 to 2018.
http://sccc.org.au/yearly-average-background-radiation-levels
Disclaimer: This is an amateur volunteer run service. Human error can provide incorrect information, and equipment malfunction can produce false readings. Do not rely on, or take action upon information presented on this web site, without further research.
2018/03/14 at 5:32 pm
Southern Hemisphere February 2018 Background Level Report
Station location
http://sccc.org.au/monitoring/Australian-Map.jpg
This short animation of Northern and Southern Hemisphere air circulation, shows why we can get detections so far south.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh011eAYjAA
The month average for February 2018 was 49% above pre-Fukushima levels, the highest month average local February background on record. Late February also had three days that were 80%+ above average. This is the first time here we have had three days in a row at 80% above pre-Fukushima levels.
A contributing factor to the day average increases near the end of February would have been the 10 pCi/l + Radon spikes that were detected on the 23rd, 24th and 25th. The Radon spike detections were possibly a precursor to an up tick in earthquake and volcanic activity on the Pacific rim, as the surface wind was coming off the Pacific Ocean at the time.
Even so, the elevated Radon levels would not account for all the month day average background increases.
Chart of Radon Spike on the 25th
http://sccc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Radon-spike-25th-February-2018.png
February 2018 day average background chart,
What the bar chart colour codes mean. http://sccc.org.au/what-does-each-step-in-the-alert-level-colour-code-mean
Caloundra February month average, year comparisons.
2018 49% above pre-Fukushima average
2017 42% above pre-Fukushima average
2016 41% above pre-Fukushima average
2015 30% above pre-Fukushima average
2014 40% above pre-Fukushima average
2013 39% above pre-Fukushima average
2012 37% above pre-Fukushima average
Year and month average local background radiation levels from 2007 to 2018.
http://sccc.org.au/yearly-average-background-radiation-levels
Disclaimer: This is an amateur volunteer run service. Human error can provide incorrect information, and equipment malfunction can produce false readings. Do not rely on, or take action upon information presented on this web site, without further research.
2018/02/04 at 3:38 pm
Southern Hemisphere January 2018 Background Report
Station location
http://sccc.org.au/monitoring/Australian-Map.jpg
This short animation of Northern and Southern Hemisphere air circulation, shows why we can get detections so far south.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh011eAYjAA
Caloundra 2nd January 2018 – Another massive Radon spike was detected and reached up to 10 pCi/L.
http://sccc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Radon_Info_ENG.pdf
At the peak of this spike it was very humid, but not raining, and the local Radon monitor was in a wooden building with the door and some windows open. Under these environmental monitoring conditions, this is a very large spike in local Radon levels. The wind direction during the event was from the tropics.
Radon Event Chart:
http://sccc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/ThereminoGeiger_2018_01_02_21_29_19.jpg
Caloundra January month average, year comparisons.
2018 45% above pre-Fukushima average
2017 42% above pre-Fukushima average
2016 41% above pre-Fukushima average
2015 40% above pre-Fukushima average
2014 41% above pre-Fukushima average
2013 52% above pre-Fukushima average
2012 43% above pre-Fukushima average
On the 15th January there was a marked drop in background levels, as the wind direction changed to a Southerly from the Southern Ocean. This dynamic has been constant since Fukushima. Whenever Southern Ocean air flows reach here, we get a significant drop in background levels.
January 2018 day average chart,
http://sccc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Caloundra-local-average-background-radiation-levels-January-2018.jpg
What the bar chart colour codes mean.
http://sccc.org.au/what-does-each-step-in-the-alert-level-colour-code-mean
Cairns North Queensland January background Report – Fairly flat, the little spikes were coincidental with some thunderstorms and good rainfalls.
The Cairns monitoring station has two GammaScout Geiger counters.
http://sccc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Cairns-January-2018.jpg
Year and month average local background radiation levels from 2007 to 2018.
http://sccc.org.au/yearly-average-background-radiation-levels
Disclaimer: This is an amateur volunteer run service. Human error can provide incorrect information, and equipment malfunction can produce false readings. Do not rely on, or take action upon information presented on this web site, without further research.
BEGINNING 2018
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