The Size Distribution of Radioactive Aerosols in the Upper Troposphere

Abstract

An aircraft-borne impactor-filter system for the collection of tropospheric aerosols of natural and fission-product origin is described. The system has been used in studies of the size distribution of atmospheric particles as a function of altitude within the troposphere. Preliminary results indicate a size distribution in mid-troposphere as being intermediate between ground level and lower stratosphere and support the possibility that high level particles undergo a change in size on their descent through the atmosphere.