Atmospheric depositional characteristics of Beryllium 7 and Lead 210 along Southeastern Virginia coast

Journal Article · Sun Aug 20 04:00:00 EDT 1989 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/JD094iD08p11106· OSTI ID:5483555

Todd, J F; Wong, G T.F. ^[1]; Olsen, C R; Larsen, I L ^[2]

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1. Department of Oceanography, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia (US)
2. Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Atmospheric depositional fluxes of {sup 7}Be and {sup 210}Pb were measured simultaneously in wet-only and bulk deposition over a 29-month period (October 1982 through February 1985) in Norfolk, Virginia (36{degree}53{prime}N, 76{degree}18{prime}W). Total precipitation accumulation during 1983 and 1984 was 134 and 129 cm, respectively, slightly above the normal yearly accumulation. The volume-weighted average concentrations of {sup 7}Be in bulk deposition for 1983 and 1984 were 90 and 100 dpm/L, while those for {sup 210}Pb were 5.9 and 6.6 dpm/L, respectively. The annual depositional fluxes of {sup 7}Be and {sup 210}Pb in bulk deposition in 1983 and 1984 were 12.0 and 12.9 dpm/cm{sup 2} (for {sup 7}Be) and 0.79 and 0.85 dpm/cm{sup 2} (for {sup 210}Pb), respectively. There was a high degree of correlation between {sup 7}Be and {sup 210}Pb concentrations in wet-only deposition. This was not aniticipated, considering that the sources of these two radionuclides are different. These results suggest that {sup 7}Be and {sup 210}Pb cannot be used as two independent tracers for materials originating in the stratosphere versus those from the troposphere. Dry depositional fluxes for both radionuclides, estimated from differences in the wet-only and bulk fluxes, were calculated to be a maximum of 12 and 11% of the bulk {sup 7}Be and {sup 210}Pb fluxes, respectively. On an annual average the washout ratio for {sup 7}Be in bulk deposition was 370, while that for {sup 210}Pb was 215. The annual average total deposition velocities for {sup 7}Be and {sup 210}Pb were estimated to be 1.3 and 0.7 cm/s, respectively.

• OSTI ID: 5483555
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (USA), Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research; (USA) Vol. 94:D8; ISSN 0148-0227; ISSN JGREA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500300* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
BERYLLIUM 7
BERYLLIUM ISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CHARGED-PARTICLE PRECIPITATION
CHEMISTRY
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FEDERAL REGION III
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
LEAD 210
LEAD ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MASS TRANSFER
NITROGEN
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEI
OXYGEN
POLLUTION SOURCES
RADIOISOTOPES
TROPOSPHERE
USA
VIRGINIA
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES