Meteorological effects on atmospheric radioactive particles: a review of recent research

Atmospheric radioactive particles in surface air, originating from natural and anthropogenic sources, constitute a significant source of ionizing radiation in the environment. Despite growing research interest in the past decade, particularly after the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, no comprehensive critical analysis has been conducted to synthesize individual findings on how meteorological conditions influence atmospheric radionuclides behaviour. Hence, using the systematic literature review (SLR) methodology, this study evaluates 113 peer-reviewed articles in the Web of Science and Scopus databases from 2010 to 2023, with a focused discussion on the influence of six key meteorological parameters – precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, atmospheric pressure, and solar activity – on radioactive particle in surface air. Results show that precipitation and relative humidity act as removal mechanisms, while temperature, wind speed and atmospheric pressure dictate transport and resuspension processes, and solar activity exclusively regulates cosmogenic radionuclide production. The review highlights the prominent use of traditional statistical approaches and atmospheric transport modeling, while emphasizing the potential of machine learning models. Several research gaps are identified, and corresponding recommendations are proposed. This review advances understanding of meteorological effects on radionuclide behaviour, contributing to existing body of knowledge and providing a framework for future research.