Spectral Relative Absorption Difference Method.

When analyzing field data, the uncertainty in the background continuum emission produces the majority of error in the final gamma-source analysis. The background emission typically dominates an observed spectrum in terms of counts and is highly variable spatially and temporally. The majority of the spectral shape of the background continuum is produced by combinations of cosmic rays, ⁴⁰K, ²³⁵U, and ²²⁰Rn, and the continuum is similar in shape to the 15%-20% level for most field observations. However, the goal of spectroscopy analysis is to pick up subtle peaks (<%5) upon this large background. Because the continuum is falling off as energy increases, peak detection algorithms must first define the background surrounding the peak. This definition is difficult when the range of background shapes is considered. The full spectral template matching algorithms are heavily weighted to solving for the background continuum as it produces significant counts over much of the energy range. The most appropriate background mitigation technique is to take a separate background observation without the source of interest. But, it is frequently not possible to record a background observation in the exactly location before (or after) a source has been detected. Thus, one uses approximate backgrounds that rely on spatially nearby locations or similar environments. Since the error in many field observations is dominated by the background, a technique that is less sensitive to the background would be quite beneficial. We report the result of an initial investigation into a novel observation scheme for gamma-emission detection in high background environments. Employing low resolution, NaI, detectors, we examine the different between the direct emission and the "spectral-shadow" that the gamma emission produces when passed through a thin absorber. For this detection scheme to be competitive, it is required to count and analyze individual gamma-events. We describe the unique instrumental setup which we assembled to make these measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]