Radiological surveying as a method for mapping fossilized bone sites
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A radiological surveying method, comprising:
- providing a gamma ray detector within a shielded housing having a collimating window, all structured and arranged to provide a shielded line of sight for said detector;
associating said shielded housing with a movable support, structured and arranged to hold said window at a selected orientation and elevation with respect to the surface of the earth when said support is positioned atop said surface;
positioning said support sequentially at a plurality of measurement positions atop said surface within a survey site, with said line of sight transverse said surface;
operating said detector at each said measurement position to determine the level of radioactivity at each said measurement position;
determining the background radioactivity characteristic of said survey site; and
determining those measurement positions within said survey site characterized by above-background radiological activity.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Radiological surveys for the discovery and mapping of subterranean fossilized relics, notably dinosaur bones utilize a detector shielded by a lead casing having a collimating window oriented approximately parallel and slightly above ground surface to receive gamma radiation traveling approximately vertically upward.
9 Citations
18 Claims
-
1. A radiological surveying method, comprising:
-
providing a gamma ray detector within a shielded housing having a collimating window, all structured and arranged to provide a shielded line of sight for said detector; associating said shielded housing with a movable support, structured and arranged to hold said window at a selected orientation and elevation with respect to the surface of the earth when said support is positioned atop said surface; positioning said support sequentially at a plurality of measurement positions atop said surface within a survey site, with said line of sight transverse said surface; operating said detector at each said measurement position to determine the level of radioactivity at each said measurement position; determining the background radioactivity characteristic of said survey site; and determining those measurement positions within said survey site characterized by above-background radiological activity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
-
-
7. A radiological surveying method, comprising:
-
providing a gamma ray detector within a shielded lead housing, said housing including a closed end cap, and said end cap being provided with a window adapted to admit gamma rays traveling approximately axially with respect to said window; positioning said housing at a plurality of measurement positions within a survey site, with said window held approximately parallel and closely above the surface of the earth, whereby to detect gamma rays traveling approximately vertically up from a subterranean source of radioactivity; operating said detector at each said measurement position to determine the level of radioactivity at each said measurement position; and determining those measurement positions within said survey site characterized by above-background radiological activity. - View Dependent Claims (8)
-
-
9. In the radiological survey method for determining the presence of subterranean relics within a survey site by detecting gamma rays emanating from said relics, an improvement comprising:
-
detecting radiological activity at a plurality of measurement positions spaced throughout said survey sites by means which preferentially detect gamma rays traveling approximately parallel a line of sight within a collimated band, whereby to obtain measurement data at each said measurement position which excludes a substantial portion of the background radioactivity characteristic of said survey site; and using said data to determine those regions within said survey site which evidence an above-background level of radioactivity. - View Dependent Claims (10)
-
-
11. In the method for locating buried relics within a survey site characterized by low level background radiation, wherein the relics emit low level gamma ray radiation, on the order of a few micro REM, and wherein the method includes determining the radiation levels at a plurality of surface locations across said site, the improvement comprising:
determining said radiation levels by detection means structured to provide a narrow collimated band of gamma ray radiation traveling in a selected direction to a gamma ray detector;
said means including;a shield for said detector, structured and arranged substantially to exclude background radiation traveling in directions other than said selected direction; and a transportable support system structured and arranged to position said shield approximately identically with respect to the earth'"'"'s surface at each of said plurality of surface locations. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
Specification