Study of variation of soil radon exhalation rate with meteorological parameters in Bakreswar–Tantloi geothermal region of West Bengal and Jharkhand, India

Radon gas is the predominant ionizing radiation on earth. Its occurrence is controlled by the presence of uranium in all types of rocks in the earthcrust, apart from local geological features and atmospheric factors which influence its release into the atmosphere. The present work deals with 24 h observation of the dependence of radon exhalation rate from soil on local meteorological parameters at four locations in Bakreswar–Tantloi geothermal region, located in the highly faulted Chhotanagpur Plateau of eastern India. This study is the primary step towards the determination of soil radon exhalation dynamics in this geothermal area.