ABSTRACT
Rock surfaces can suffer increased weathering rates in historical buildings of urban environments due to several pollution sources. Assessing the causes is not an easy issue given that analytical procedures are limited by sampling restrictions, a situation that encourages the use of non-destructive methods. Gamma-ray spectrometry (GRS) is usually used for geological mapping, as allows non-destructively assessing the radioisotope content of K, U and Th in rocks. However, it has never been used to assess the decay of building stone. In this work, we have applied GRS to assess stone weathering on a granite historical building of A Coruña (NW Spain) comparing results with measurements performed in the rock massif. Results suggest differences between weathering degrees being GRS a promising technique to be developed and applied with this purpose in a next future.
