Seasonal variations and depth dependence of soil radon concentration levels in different geological formations in Deir Abu-Said District, Irbid-Jordan

Soil radon concentration levels in Deir Abu-Said District, Irbid-Jordan were measured using CR-39 track detectors in both summer and winter at several depths over six geological formations. Seasonal variations of soil radon were measured at five depths (10, 25, 50, 75 and 100cm). At a depth of 100cm; soil radon concentration levels, in summer, range from 6.85kBqm-3 for Muwaqqar Chalky-Marl (MCM) to 35.5kBqm-3 for Al-Hisa Phosphatic (AHP) Limestone, while in winter the range is between 4.01 and 24.6kBqm-3, respectively. The highest values of soil radon concentration obtained are found for AHP in both seasons at all depths. This is related to the high content of uranium of this geological formation. As expected, our data show an increase of soil radon concentration levels with depth