Multifractal analysis of the 137Cs-fallout pattern in Austria resulting from the Chernobyl accident

The fractal structure was investigated of the network of 1881 monitoring points which were used to determine the fallout patterns of 137Cs in Austria. Analysis suggests that the dimensional resolution problem may be quite significant for the Austrian Cs monitoring data set. Zones with contamination above around C(crit) ≅ 150 kBq/m2 are sparse enough to slip undetected through the monitoring network. The existence of 'hot spots' is a spatial resolution problem which cannot be solved by fractal analysis. (P.A.)