Monte Carlo determination of water concentration effect on gamma-ray detection efficiency in soil samples

Water concentration effect on full energy peak efficiency in a soil sample taken from a soil profile in Erzurum (39 degrees 55' N; 41 degrees 16' E; 200 m above sea level), Turkey was determined using Monte Carlo simulation technique. The dependence of the full energy peak efficiency on the water concentration in the soil was obtained for some particular photon energies ranging from 60 keV to 2 MeV and, as a result, the corresponding correction factors were obtained. It was observed that the correction factor approaches unity with increasing energy and decreases with increasing water concentration.