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

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6659254

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
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Portions of document are illegible
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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