Spatial Variations of Physical Characteristics of Soil and Their Role in Creating a Model of a Geogenic Radon Hazard Index (GRHI) in the Kuznetsk Coal Basin

Abstract

Geographic patterns determine geogenic radon factors that, changing over the territory, form spatial structures of different scales associated with regional and local variations. The study of these structures is important for assessing the possibility of using limited data to predict geogenic radon potential. Our research focuses on the study of the physical properties of soils (moisture, soil density, porosity and void ratio) in the Kuznetsk coal basin. Their variations are studied using statistical methods, a variogram cloud and spatial autocorrelation of data. Soil moisture and porosity have the greatest variability in space and with depth. We conclude that the assessment of geogenic radon predictors requires consideration of the variation coefficient and autocorrelation indices at different scales. Based on the variability of humidity and the fairly homogeneous nature of the studied soils (loams), to assess the radon hazard, it is necessary to study the influence of climatic conditions, since the permeability of the environment for radon will be determined by soil moisture. With the predominance of substantially clayey soils, it is necessary to study the content of 226Ra in the upper horizons, since it is assumed that radon is predominantly diffusely transferred, in which its role is dominant.