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Airborne radiometric data: in search of the lost peatlands, Anglesey, North Wales

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Soil carbon plays a crucial role in maintaining soil health, regulating water retention, and overall ecosystem function, while also acting as a carbon sink that can mitigate climate change. Updating peat information has become a priority in relation to carbon accounting. Soils attenuate radiometric flux by virtue of their bulk density and water saturation. The largest contrasts are associated with high carbon, wet peat zones. A revised attenuation theory demonstrates the response continuum of all soils and defines their response over the full range of saturation levels. The theory can be applied to any form of radiometric survey data. The relevance of the attenuation properties of airborne radiometric data to peat mapping is well established. Mainly due to survey height, the spatial resolution of the radiometric data is limited. It has been argued that conventional peat mapping has omitted many potential areas of peat, often excluded on the basis of depth. These smaller pockets of the carbon store have been termed the lost peatlands. A new observational and adaptable assessment of the peat extent across Wales has recently been published. An existing small airborne survey is used to provide an attenuation assessment of peat extents in relation to the control provided by the new map. Many of the peat zones are small (<0.05 km 2 ) and are detected on only one or two flightlines. The large support volume (footprint) of airborne measurements provides a moving-average of subsurface contributions. Despite this, the attenuation response appears sufficient to either confirm or reject the evidence of a peat zone. The data also suggest many other areas of potential peat. • Revised (simplified) radiometric attenuation theory applicable to all soils and survey types. • Flux attenuation assessed across all peat zones including small zones <5 ha. • Control of observed peat extents obtained using a new evidence database of Welsh peat. • Assessment of small peaty pockets previously unrecognised in existing carbon accounting.

Source: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2025.107858

Authors: David Beamish, James C. White

Institution: British Geological Survey

Language: English

Topic: Soil Geostatistics and Mapping

Subfield: Environmental Engineering

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Life on land, Climate action

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,800