Correction of the attenuation effect of vegetation on airborne gamma-ray spectrometry data using laser altimeter data

The interpretation of airborne gamma-ray data is considerably complicated by the attenuating effects of vegetation. In order to correct these effects we used simultaneously measured laser altimeter data to characterize the vegetation cover. To describe the attenuation effect and correct its consequences on gamma-ray data we used a simple model of exponential absorption of monoenergetic gamma-ray photons by an attenuating medium. The determination of the corresponding linear attenuation coefficients for potassium (K), uranium (U) and thorium (Th) is based on data from an airborne geophysical survey in Austria.