/sup 36/Cl in polar ice, rainwater and seawater
Concentrations of the cosmogenic radioisotope /sup 36/Cl (t/sub 1/d/ = 3.0 x 10/sup 5/ yr) in Antarctic ice and in rain and an upper limit to the seawater value have been determined using van der Graaff accelerator high energy mass spectrometry. Chlorine-36 concentrations in Antarctic ice lie in the range (2.5 to 8.7) x 10/sup 6/ atoms /sup 36/Cl/kg. Recent firn from Siple Station and ice samples collected from the Allan Hills ice field at locations where meteorites have been brought to the surface by glacial flow and ablation have /sup 36/Cl contents which vary by more than a factor of three. This variation can be attributed either to the effects of atmospheric mixing and scavenging or to radioactive decay in very old ice. The /sup 36/Cl concentration found in a sample of recent rainwater is much lower than has been reported in samples collected in the early 1960's, suggesting that there has been a large decrease in the concentration of atmospheric /sup 36/Cl derived from nuclear weapons tests over this time period. If measurement sensitivities can be increased somewhat, calculations indicate that the bomb spike of /sup 36/Cl may potentially be a useful oceanographic mixing tracer.
- Research Organization:
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
- OSTI ID:
- 6548985
- Journal Information:
- Geophys. Res. Lett.; (United States), Vol. 7:11
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ICE
CHLORINE 36
RAIN WATER
SEAWATER
ANTARCTICA
COSMIC RADIATION
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
GEOCHEMISTRY
ISOTOPE DATING
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
AGE ESTIMATION
ANTARCTIC REGIONS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CHEMISTRY
CHLORINE ISOTOPES
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
EXPLOSIONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
IONIZING RADIATIONS
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLAR REGIONS
RADIATIONS
RADIOISOTOPES
WATER
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
580500* - Oceanography- (1980-1989)
640202 - Atmospheric Physics- Effects of Nuclear Detonations