92
P. De Meutter et al.
15.4 Discussion
The Ru-106 detections made in autumn 2017 provide a very interesting case for
inverse atmospheric transport modelling since (i) the release must have been strong,
resulting in detections throughout the northern hemisphere and (ii) the absence of a
Ru-106 background that could contaminate the signature of the event of interest. The
detections span more than three orders of magnitude, so that a cost function is needed
that treats high and low detections with similar importance. The IMS observations
of Ru-106 are found to be compatible with a single grid box source located in the
area between the Volga and the Ural mountains. According to the inverse modelling,
the Ru-106 release could have been up to 1 PBq. The results of this study are in
agreement with the study published by IRSN, although a different methodology and
different observations have been used.
Acknowledgements One of the authors (P De Meutter) acknowledges funding from Engie under
contract number JUR2015-28-00.
References
1. Detection of Ruthenium 106 in France and in Europe: Results of IRSNs Investigations. http://
www.irsn.fr. Accessed 29 Jan 2018
2. A. Stohl, C. Forster, A. Frank, P. Seibert, G. Wotawa, Technical note: the Lagrangian particle
dispersion model FLEXPART version 6.2. Atmos. Chem. Phys. (2005). https://doi.org/10.5194/
acp-5-2461-2005
3. P. Seibert, A. Frank, Source-receptor matrix calculation with a Lagrangian particle dispersion
model in backward mode. Atmos. Chem. Phys. (2000). https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-4-51-2004
4. G. Cervone, P. Franzese, Monte Carlo source detection of atmospheric emissions and error
functions analysis. Comput Geosci. (2010). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2010.01.007
5. M. Bonavita, E. Hlm, L. Isaksen, M. Fisher, The evolution of the ECMWF hybrid data assimilation system. Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc. (2016). https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2652
P. De Meutter et al.
15.4 Discussion
The Ru-106 detections made in autumn 2017 provide a very interesting case for
inverse atmospheric transport modelling since (i) the release must have been strong,
resulting in detections throughout the northern hemisphere and (ii) the absence of a
Ru-106 background that could contaminate the signature of the event of interest. The
detections span more than three orders of magnitude, so that a cost function is needed
that treats high and low detections with similar importance. The IMS observations
of Ru-106 are found to be compatible with a single grid box source located in the
area between the Volga and the Ural mountains. According to the inverse modelling,
the Ru-106 release could have been up to 1 PBq. The results of this study are in
agreement with the study published by IRSN, although a different methodology and
different observations have been used.
Acknowledgements One of the authors (P De Meutter) acknowledges funding from Engie under
contract number JUR2015-28-00.
References
1. Detection of Ruthenium 106 in France and in Europe: Results of IRSNs Investigations. http://
www.irsn.fr. Accessed 29 Jan 2018
2. A. Stohl, C. Forster, A. Frank, P. Seibert, G. Wotawa, Technical note: the Lagrangian particle
dispersion model FLEXPART version 6.2. Atmos. Chem. Phys. (2005). https://doi.org/10.5194/
acp-5-2461-2005
3. P. Seibert, A. Frank, Source-receptor matrix calculation with a Lagrangian particle dispersion
model in backward mode. Atmos. Chem. Phys. (2000). https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-4-51-2004
4. G. Cervone, P. Franzese, Monte Carlo source detection of atmospheric emissions and error
functions analysis. Comput Geosci. (2010). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2010.01.007
5. M. Bonavita, E. Hlm, L. Isaksen, M. Fisher, The evolution of the ECMWF hybrid data assimilation system. Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc. (2016). https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2652