GEMS (Gamma Energy Marine Spectrometer) is a prototype of an autonomous radioactivity sensor for underwater measurements, developed in the framework for a development of a submarine telescope for neutrino detection (KM3NeT Design Study Project). The spectrometer is highly sensitive to gamma rays produced by 40K decays but it can detect other natural (e.g., 238U,232Th) and anthropogenic radio-nuclides (e.g., 137Cs). GEMS was firstly tested and calibrated in the laboratory using known sources and it was successfully deployed for a long-term (6 months) monitoring at a depth of 3200 m in the Ionian Sea (Capo Passero, offshore Eastern Sicily). The instrument recorded data for the whole deployment period within the expected specifications. This monitoring provided, for the first time, a continuous time-series of radioactivity in deep-sea. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
GEMS: Underwater spectrometer for long-term radioactivity measurements / Ludovica, Sartini; Simeone, Francesco; Priscilla, Pani; Nadia Lo, Bue; Giuditta, Marinaro; Grubich, Andry; Alexander, Lobko; Giuseppe, Etiope; Capone, Antonio; Paolo, Favali. - In: NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTS & METHODS IN PHYSICS RESEARCH. SECTION A, ACCELERATORS, SPECTROMETERS, DETECTORS AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT. - ISSN 0168-9002. - STAMPA. - 626-627:SUPPL.(2011), pp. 145-147. [10.1016/j.nima.2010.06.248]
GEMS: Underwater spectrometer for long-term radioactivity measurements
SIMEONE, Francesco;CAPONE, Antonio;
2011
Abstract
GEMS (Gamma Energy Marine Spectrometer) is a prototype of an autonomous radioactivity sensor for underwater measurements, developed in the framework for a development of a submarine telescope for neutrino detection (KM3NeT Design Study Project). The spectrometer is highly sensitive to gamma rays produced by 40K decays but it can detect other natural (e.g., 238U,232Th) and anthropogenic radio-nuclides (e.g., 137Cs). GEMS was firstly tested and calibrated in the laboratory using known sources and it was successfully deployed for a long-term (6 months) monitoring at a depth of 3200 m in the Ionian Sea (Capo Passero, offshore Eastern Sicily). The instrument recorded data for the whole deployment period within the expected specifications. This monitoring provided, for the first time, a continuous time-series of radioactivity in deep-sea. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
