ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Ocean Observation
Identification and Characterization of Gamma Radiation Anomalies Along the Trieste–Panarea Routes Aboard R/V Laura Bassi
Behzad Salmassian
Massimiliano Iurcev
Alessio Trebbi
Franco Coren
National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (Italy), Trieste, Italy
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Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to identify, characterize, and determine the origin of semi-persistent gamma radiation anomalies in the Adriatic Sea along the Trieste-Panarea transect, establishing a high resolution radiometric baseline and assessing the influence of environmental parameters. Methods: In situ gamma-ray spectrometry was conducted using an RS-250 NaI(Tl) detector aboard the R/V Laura Bassi during four research cruises, covering a total distance of over 2500 nautical miles. The spectrometer was configured with 1024 energy channels with range 3 keV and provided a resolution of 6-7% at the 662 keV photopeak of Cs 137 . More than 4000 recordings of the total gamma-ray count rate and full-spectrum data were collected. These radiological data were precisely synchronized and correlated with contemporaneous bathymetric, wind speed, air temperature, and humidity data. Results: Three persistent anomaly regions were identified in the Central Adriatic, Southern Adriatic, and Strait of Otranto, with peak total counts per 10-minute sample of 34,659, 76,854, and 32,415, respectively. Spectral analysis revealed these are primarily sourced from natural Uranium ( Bi 214 , Pb 214 ), Potassium ( K 40 ), and Thorium ( Tl 208 , Bi 212 ) decay series radionuclides, with a negligible anthropogenic Cs 137 contribution. Correlation analyses showed weak relationships with environmental variables (R² < 0.25 for wind, temperature, humidity, depth), confirming the anomalies are not artifacts of atmospheric or surface conditions but are linked to seabed processes. Conclusion: The identified anomalies are natural features resulting from the oceanographic focusing of clay-rich, radiogenic sediments in specific depositional zones. This work provides a validated methodological inspection framework and a critical baseline for future geophysical mapping, environmental monitoring, and radiological assessment in the research cruises.
Summary
Keywords
Adriatic sea, Aeolian islands, anthropogenic radionuclides, Marine Gamma-ray Spectrometry, Natural radionuclides, Radiation Anomaly
Received
20 November 2025
Accepted
04 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Salmassian, Iurcev, Trebbi and Coren. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Massimiliano Iurcev
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