In situ measurements of tritium evapotranspiration (3H-ET) flux over grass and soil using the gradient and eddy covariance experimental methods and the FAO-56 model

Published in: The Journal of Environmental Radioactivity – June, 2015

Authors: O. Connan, D. Maro, D. Hébert, L. Solier, P. Caldeira Ideas, P. Laguionie , N. St-Amant
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC)

Abstract

An article titled “In situ measurements of tritium evapotranspiration (3H-ET) flux over grass and soil using the gradient and eddy covariance experimental methods and the FAO-56 model” was published in the Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. The article discusses the results of collaborative research between the CNSC and France’s Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire. The aim of the research was to measure and monitor the behaviour of tritium in the terrestrial environments of two different experimental sites – one in Pembroke, Ontario and the other in northern France. Tritium was measured in air, soil and vegetation samples. Data collected from these samples were then used to better understand the behaviour of tritium in these environments with respect to the water cycle. In monitoring this behaviour, three different methods of calculating the tritium evapotranspiration flux from grassland terrestrial environments were used. The study showed that each of these three methods produced similar results. The results of this study will be used to improve the general models used for the prediction of tritium transfer behaviour in the environment.

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