Fate of nuclides in natural-water systems. Annual progress report, October 1, 1981-March 31, 1983

Technical Report · Tue Nov 30 04:00:00 EST 1982

OSTI ID:6659254

Turekian, K K

The atmospheric fluxes of /sup 210/Pb and /sup 7/Be at New Haven, CT, and Bermuda were determined and compared with model fluxes. The reliability of these radionuclides as tracers for other chemical species injected into the atmosphere by human activity was therefore tested. The distribution of /sup 10/Be in soil profiles was studied. The initial aim was to use the standing crop of /sup 10/Be in the soil to obtain an exposure age of the surface. Dated surfaces (i.e. raised coastal terraces, dated volcanic flows, etc) showed that /sup 10/Be does not totally accumulate in the soils but is mobilized. The mean residence time appears to be about 20,000 years. In a related study a number of the members of the /sup 238/U and /sup 232/Th decay series nuclides were measured in the major ground water aquifer types in Connecticut. Using /sup 222/Rn as a flux indicator it was possible to determine the adsorption and desorption coefficients, distribution coefficients and retardation factors of Ra, Pb, and Th in these aquifers. The study of the transport of nuclides by the Connecticut River and the study of the Amazon River plume were completed. Also completed was one of the most intensive studies of the behavior of natural radionuclides and plutonium in an estuarine system, the Long Island Sound, by analyzing two nearshore sites (SACHEM and FOAM) to complement the deep water sites (NWC and DEEP). The chronologies of accumulation, bioturbation, human disturbance and physical change were established for these varied environments.

• Research Organization: Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (USA). Dept. of Geology and Geophysics
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76EV13573
• OSTI ID: 6659254
• Report Number(s): DOE/EV/13573-32; COO-3573-32; ON: DE83003060
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500300* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
510300 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
520300 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACTINIDES
AIR
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
AQUIFERS
BERYLLIUM 10
BERYLLIUM 7
BERYLLIUM ISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CONNECTICUT
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
ESTUARIES
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FALLOUT
FEDERAL REGION I
FLUIDS
GASES
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
LEAD 210
LEAD ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MASS TRANSFER
METALS
NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEI
PLUTONIUM
RADIOACTIVITY
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
RADIUM
SOILS
SURFACE AIR
SURFACE WATERS
THORIUM
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
USA
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES