As proficiency training for the Radiological Mapping mission of the Aerial Measuring System (AMS), a survey team from the Remote Sensing LaboratoryNellis (RSL-Nellis) conducted aerial radiological surveys of the Las Vegas Strip and adjacent areas on December 11, 2006, and December 26 and 31, 2007. The AMS operation and appropriate law enforcement agencies selected the area as an appropriate urban location to exercise AMS capability for mapping environmental radiation and searching for man-made radioactive sources. The surveys covered approx.11 square miles. Each survey required a 2.5-hour-long flight, performed at an altitude of 300 ft above ground level (AGL) at a line spacing of 600 ft. Water line and test line flights were conducted over the Lake Mead and Government Wash areas to determine the nonterrestrial background contributed by aircraft, radon, and cosmic activity, and to determine the altitude-dependent air mass correction. The data were collected by the AMS data acquisition system (REDAR V) using an array of twelve 2 inches x 4 inches x 16 inches sodium iodide (NaI) detectors flown on-board a twin-engine Bell 412 helicopter. Gamma energy spectral data were collected second-by-second over the survey area. This spectral data allows the system to distinguish between natural terrestrial background contributions and manmade radioisotope contributions. Spectral data can also be used to identify specific man-made radioactive isotopes. Data geo-locations were determined with a Real-Time Differential Global Positioning System (RDGPS).
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