Catalogue of dose rate constants for more than 400 radionuclides in terms of ambient dose H and comparison of figures to ambient dose equivalent H(10).

In 2020, the International Commission on Radiation Units & Measurements ICRU has released Report 95 on "Operational Quantities for External Radiation Exposure". This publication introduced a new measurand, namely ambient dose H, as the operational quantity for external exposure to be applied in the future replacing ambient dose equivalent H(10). It should be noted that this change will make it necessary to adjust previously used constants and coefficients or at least to review them with regard to the new measurand.

Vertical migration of radionuclides in undisturbed grassland soils.

Literature data on numerical values obtained for the parameters of the two most popular models for simulating the migration of radionuclides in undisturbed soils have been compiled and evaluated statistically. Due to restrictions on the applicability of compartmental models, the convection-dispersion equation and its parameter values should be preferred. For radiocaesium, recommended values are derived for its effective convection velocity and dispersion coefficient.

Effective and ecological half-lives of 137Cs in cow's milk in alpine agriculture.

In the mountainous "Hohe Tauern" region of Salzburg (Austria), milk samples have been collected in a long-term montitoring programme since 1988, at eight alpine sites used for extensive, seasonal stock farming. For this alpine environment with its acidic soils developed on silicate bedrock, high soil-to-plant transfer factors and long-lasting (137)Cs contamination levels in milk--the main product of seasonal agriculture at elevated altitudes--are characteristic features. The decrease in (137)Cs concentration in milk measured since 1988 turned out to be best described by one or two effective half-lives.

Modeling of nitrogen dynamics in an Austrian alpine forest ecosystem on calcareous soils: a scenario-based risk assessment under changing environmental conditions.

We modeled the behavior of an Austrian alpine forest ecosystem on calcareous soils under changing climate and atmospheric nitrogen deposition scenarios. The change of nitrate leaching, emission rates of nitrogen compounds, and forest productivity were calculated using four process-oriented models for the periods 1998-2002 and 2048-2052. Each model reflects with high detail a segment of the ecosystem: PnET-N-DNDC (photosynthesis-evapotranspiration-nitrification-denitrification-decomposition; short-term nitrogen cycling), BROOK90 (water balance for small and homogenous forest watersheds), HYDRUS (water flux in complex and heterogenous soils), and PICUS v1.

Radiocesium storage in soil microbial biomass of undisturbed alpine meadow soils and its relation to 137Cs soil-plant transfer.

This study focuses on radiocesium storage in soil microbial biomass of undisturbed alpine meadow sites and its relation to the soil-to-plant transfer. Soil and plant samples were taken in August 1999 from an altitude transect (800-1600m.a.