Airborne radioactivity survey of the Aspen Mountain area, Sweetwater county, Wyoming

Trace Elements Memorandum 609
Prepared in cooperation with the United States Atomic Energy Commission
By:  and 

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Abstract

The accompanying map shows the results of an airborne radioactivity survey covering 700 square miles in the Aspen Mountain area, Sweetwater county, Wyoming. The survey was made by the U.S. Geological Survey, October 22, 1952, as part of a cooperative program with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. The survey was made with scintillation-detection equipment mounted in a Douglas DC-3 aircraft. Parallel traverse lines, spaced at quarter-mile intervals, were flown approximately 500 feet above the ground. Aerial photographs were used for pilot guidance, and the flight path of the aircraft was recorded by a gyro-stabilized, continuous-strip-film camera. The distance of the aircraft from the ground was measured with a continuously recording radio altimeter. At 500 feet above the ground, the width of the zone from which anomalous radioactivity is measured varies with the intensity of radiation of the source and, for strong sources, the width would be as much as 1,400 feet. Quarter-mile spacing of the flight paths of the aircraft should be adequate to detect anomalies from strong sources of radioactivity. However, small areas of considerable radioactivity midway between flight paths may not be noted. The approximate location of each radioactivity anomaly is shown on the accompanying map. The plotted position of an anomaly may be in error by as much as a quarter of a mile owing to errors in the available base maps up to several square miles in which it is impossible to find and plot recognizable landmarks. The radioactivity anomaly that is recorded by airborne measurements at 500 feet above the ground can be caused by: 1. A moderately large area in which the rocks and soils are slightly more radioactive than the rocks and soils of the surrounding area. 2. A smaller area in which the rocks and soils are considerably more radioactive than rocks and soils in the surrounding area. 3. A very small area in which to rocks and soils are much more radioactive than the rocks and soils of the surrounding area. Any particular anomaly, therefore, may represent either slightly greater-than-average radioactivity over an area of a few thousand square feet, or high radioactivity over an area of a few hundred square feet. The radioactivity anomalies shown on the accompanying map indicate localities of more-than-average radioactivity, and therefore, suggest areas in which uranium or thorium deposits are more likely to occur.

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Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Airborne radioactivity survey of the Aspen Mountain area, Sweetwater county, Wyoming
Series title Trace Elements Memorandum
Series number 609
DOI 10.3133/tem609
Year Published 1953
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Description Report: 2 p.; 1 Plate: 22.11 x 16.99 inches
Country United States
State Wyoming
County Sweetwater County
Other Geospatial Aspen Mountain Area
Additional Online Files (Y/N) Y
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