Home – Home – Jornals – Atmospheric and Oceanic Optics 2025 number 8

This study is devoted to the development of a trace method for monitoring tritium isotopologues of water (HTO and T₂O) using infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The actuality of the work is due to the need to monitor tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen formed as a result of man-made processes, including accidents at nuclear power plants. The main objective was to estimate the sensitivity of IR spectroscopy for detecting low concentrations of HTO and T₂O in water vapors, which is critical for the operational monitoring of radioactive contamination. The work uses spectroscopic data from theoretical calculations and experimental measurements, including absorption line parameters from the spectra.iao.ru and HITRAN2020 databases. The line-by-line method is used to simulate transmission taking into account the refined line broadening coefficients calculated using the author's technique. The main results include: improved line broadening parameters, which increased the simulation accuracy; revealing of optimal spectral ranges for detecting HTO (1227-1236, 2219-2226 cm^-1), and the intervals for T₂O (930-990, 1092-1010 cm^-1) located in the atmospheric window (8-12 μm); estimation of the detection threshold for tritium isotopologues at a level of 0.01-0.05% of the concentration of the main isotopologue H₂¹⁶O. The obtained results open up opportunities for creating real-time tritium monitoring systems, which is important in assessing environmental and radiation risks. Promising areas for further research are adaptation of the method to field conditions taking into account the atmospheric influence and integration of spectroscopic data into climate models. The work contributes to the development of environmental monitoring and radiation safety methods.