Development and validation of a dynamical atmosphere-vegetation-soil HTO transport and OBT formation model

A numerical model simulating transport of tritiated water (HTO) in atmosphere-soil-vegetation system, and, accumulation of organically bound tritium (OBT) in vegetative leaves was developed. Characteristic of the model is, for calculating tritium transport, it incorporates a dynamical atmosphere-soil-vegetation model (SOLVEG-II) that calculates transport of heat and water, and, exchange of CO₂. The processes included for calculating tissue free water tritium (TFWT) in leaves are HTO exchange between canopy air and leaf cellular water, root uptake of aqueous HTO in soil, photosynthetic assimilation of TFWT into OBT, and, TFWT formation from OBT through respiration. Tritium fluxes at the last two processes are input to a carbohydrate compartment model in leaves that calculates OBT translocation from leaves and allocation in them, by using photosynthesis and respiration rate in leaves. The developed model was then validated through a simulation of an existing experiment of acute exposure of grape plants to atmospheric HTO. Calculated TFWT concentration in leaves increased soon after the start of HTO exposure, reaching to equilibrium with the atmospheric HTO within a few hours, and then rapidly decreased after the end of the exposure. Calculated non-exchangeable OBT amount in leaves linearly increased during the exposure, and after the exposure, rapidly decreased in daytime, and, moderately nighttime. These variations in the calculated TFWT concentrations and OBT amounts, each mainly controlled by HTO exchange between canopy air and leaf cellular water and by carbohydrates translocation from leaves, fairly agreed with the observations within average errors of a factor of two.     

HTO and OBT activity concentrations in soil at the historical atmospheric HT release site (Chalk River Laboratories)

Tritium is routinely released by the Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) nuclear facilities. Three International HT release experiments have been conducted at the CRL site in the past. The site has not been disturbed since the last historical atmospheric testing in 1994 and presents an opportunity to assess the retention of tritium in soil. This study is devoted to the measurement of HTO and OBT activity concentration profiles in the subsurface 25 cm of soil.In terms of soil HTO, there is no evidence from the past HT release experiments that HTO was retained. The HTO activity concentration in the soil pore water appears similar to concentrations found in background areas in Ontario. In contrast, OBT activity concentrations in soil at the same site were significantly higher than HTO activity concentrations in soil. Elevated OBT appears to reside in the top layer of the soil (0-5 cm). In addition, OBT activity concentrations in the top soil layer did not fluctuate much with season, again, quite in contrast with soil HTO. This result suggests that OBT activity concentrations retained the signature of the historical tritium releases.     

Modelling tritium flux from water to atmosphere: application to the Loire River

Tritium (³H or T) is one of the major radionuclides released by nuclear power plants (NPP) into rivers. However, tritiated water (HTO) flux from water to air is seldom considered when assessing health effects of such releases. The aim of this paper is to present the result of a research program, called LORA, conducted on the Loire River (France). To improve our understanding of HTO flux from surface water to air, three field campaigns were organised during the NPP’s radioactive releases to measure simultaneously the activity concentrations in air on the riverbank, using an innovative system, and in river water. The measurements showed that during radioactive releases, water vapour was enriched in ³H. These results were used to calibrate exchange velocities. The average of these estimated exchange velocities was more than one order of magnitude higher than those calculated in the literature from indoor experiments. The variability of these values was also larger, showing that outdoor studies cover a wide range of conditions influencing HTO flux. No correlation was observed between exchanges velocities and meteorological conditions. However, there was a significant difference between day and night with a higher value observed during the day. Two approaches used to calculate HTO evaporation from water (i.e. the approach based on water evaporation and the approach considering that HTO follows its own concentration gradient) were included in a hydrodynamic model, which was used to evaluate HTO air activity along the Loire River. In conclusion, only the approach considering that HTO follows its own gradient led to a good agreement between measurements and predictions. A one-year simulation was done to estimate the contribution of this process to the dose. Its contribution can be considered as negligible in this case compared to the other pathways such as ingestion of water or foodstuffs.     

Tritium profiles in snowpacks

The release of tritiated water (HTO) to the atmosphere during the winter can contribute significantly to snow contamination and to water-soil-plant contamination after the spring thaw. The dose significance of such a release depends on the persistence of tritiated water in the snowpack, which is primarily controlled by the HTO diffusion process in snow and the rate of re-emission into the atmosphere from the snowpack surface. Monitoring data collected after an acute winter release at Chalk River Laboratories and data obtained in winter over a chronically contaminated area were analyzed to estimate the diffusion coefficient of HTO in the snowpack. Under conditions of cold and dry snow, the diffusion coefficient lay in the range 1-2 × 10⁻¹⁰ m² s⁻¹, an order of magnitude lower than diffusion in water but an order of magnitude higher than self-diffusion in ice. These results confirm the theoretical predictions (Bales, 1991). Values up to six times higher were found for warmer periods and just before spring melt, when other processes contribute to profile evolution. The low diffusion rate of tritium in cold, dry snow means that tritium remains in the snowpack throughout the winter, to be released during spring thaw to potentially contaminate surface water, soil and crops.     

Fate of HTO following its acute soil deposition at different growth stages of Chinese cabbage

Lysimeter experiments were carried out in a greenhouse to study the fate of HTO following its soil deposition at different growth stages of Chinese cabbage. An HTO solution was applied to the surface of an acidic sandy soil at a time before, and four different times after, sowing. The transfer of HTO to the plants was quantified with the areal transfer factor (TFa, m2 kg(-1)-fresh) defined as the ratio of the plant concentration at harvest to the areal activity deposition. In the four post-sowing applications, the TFa values were in the ranges of 1.6 x 10(-5)-4.9 x 10(-3) for TFWT and 4.5 x 10(-6) -4.3 x 10(-5) for OBT, increasing with a decrease in the time interval between application and harvest. In the pre-sowing application, which was followed by a soil mixing, the TFa values for TFWT and OBT were 1.3 x 10(-4) and 8.6 x 10(-6), respectively. One week after harvest, soil samplings were made for the applications at 26 (A(26)) and 63d (A(63)) after sowing. Peaks of the depth profiles of the soil HTO appeared in the 10-15 cm layer for A(26) and the 5-10 cm layer for A(63). The top 30 cm of soil contained 0.5% and 20% of the applied activity for A(26) and A(63), respectively. Negligible fractions seemed to be in the deeper zone. It was estimated that almost all or most of the applied HTO had escaped to the air before plants' harvest.     

重庆缙云山地区森林土壤酸化特征

通过在2010～2012年8月份对重庆缙云山4种典型林分土壤进行野外取样和室内分析,研究了酸沉降对研究地森林土壤酸化的影响,并从多角度深入分析了4种林分土壤在时间和空间上的酸化机理。结果表明：（1）在常年酸沉降的影响下,缙云山森林土壤酸化现象非常严重,pH值较低,表层土壤pH值为387~447,4种林分土壤pH值都随土层加深递增;（2）4种林分有机质含量相差较大,灌木林最高（377 g/kg）,毛竹林最低（1144 g/kg）,且随土层增加而降低,这主要是受枯落物类型和来源的影响;（3）由于长期酸雨淋溶作用,4种林分土壤CEC含量均较低为1276~1973 cmol/kg,表层含量最高,随土层加深递减;（4）4种林分Al3+含量均较高,阔叶林（4097 mmol/kg）>灌木林（3132 mmol/kg）>针阔混交林（3006 mmol/kg）>毛竹林（2615 mmol/kg）。Al3+含量与土壤pH值呈显著负相关关系     

长江源区基于坡面尺度的土壤水热过程模拟研究

长江源多年冻土区土壤水热传输过程机理与模拟,是广泛关系到高原生态环境保护恢复和区域水文过程的关键科学问题。因此,以GEOtop模型为研究平台,以长江源不同植被盖度下（裸地、30%、65%和92%）高寒草甸的观测数据为基础,检验模型对土壤水热迁移过程的描述与模拟精度。总体而言,GEOtop模型需要率定的参数较少,从而减少模型模拟的不确定性,提高了模拟精度。对不同植被盖度下土壤温度、水分和实际蒸散发模拟的NSE 系数基本达到08,表明模型能准确模拟高寒生态系统土壤的水热传输过程,可以作为长江源区土壤水热过程的有效模拟工具     

Distribution characteristics of fluoride and aluminum in soil profiles of an abandoned tea plantation and their uptake by six woody species

Distribution characteristics of fluoride (F) and aluminum (Al) in soil profiles of an abandoned tea plantation in Hong Kong and their uptake by six woody species namely Camellia sinensis, Melastoma affine, Sterculia lanceolata, Ardisia crenata, Acacia formosa and Machilus thunbergii were investigated. C. sinensis accumulated both F (656 mg/kg in the leaves) and Al (8910 mg/kg in the leaves). M. Affine only accumulated Al (9932 mg/kg in the leaves), while S. lanceolata, A. crenata, A. formosa and M. Thunbergii were Al (26-115 mg/kg in the leaves) and F (20-25 mg/kg in the leaves) excluders. Water-soluble F and Al contents accumulated in surface soils (especially 0-3 cm) and decreased with depth along soil profiles: A layers (2.0 +/- 0.6 and 31 +/- 5.8 mg/kg) > B layers (1.5 +/- 0.2 and 27 +/- 3.5 mg/kg) > C layers (1.3 +/- 0.2 and 20 +/- 2.7 mg/kg), respectively. The water-soluble, NH4Ac-extractable and HCl-extractable F in soil profiles were significantly correlated (P < .01). F concentrations in all soil layers (n = 51) of soil profiles (n = 17) were significantly correlated (P < .01) to Al concentrations in terms of water-soluble Al/F, HCl-extractable Al/F and NH4Ac-extractable Al/F, due to the formation of Al-F complexes in soil. F contents extracted with deionized water (pH = 6.68), 1 mol/l HCl and 1 mol/l NH4Ac in soil could be used to predict F concentrations in the leaves, stems and roots of the six plants.     

不同水土保持林地土壤有机碳研究

研究了重庆四面山低山丘陵区不同水土保持林地0~20、20~40 和40~60 cm的土壤有机碳含量及不同深度的土壤有机碳密度。结果表明：0~20、20~40 和40~60 cm土层中土壤有机碳含量的平均值分别为3309、751和321 g/kg；0~20 cm的土壤有机碳密度介于497～1431 kg/m2，而0~60 cm的土壤有机碳密度介于784～1794 kg/m2，均值为1278 kg/m2；土壤有机碳含量和有机碳密度随土壤深度增加而显著减少，但其减少程度随水土保持林树种组成不同而异；不同水土保持林地60 cm深度的土壤有机碳密度存在显著差异，表现为：天然次生林>人工林>农耕地，其中，天然阔叶混交林土壤有机碳密度最大，为1794 kg/m2，农耕地的最小，仅为784 kg/m2。人工水土保持林中，阔叶混交林的土壤有机碳密度最大。从增加土壤碳的角度，建议营造阔叶混交林     

三峡库区不同林型土壤的入渗能力研究

利用环刀入渗法,观测了三峡库区山地不同海拔地段森林土壤的入渗过程,对比分析了典型林型下土壤各发生层的入渗率和常用入渗模型的适宜性。结果表明：不同林型下土壤入渗能力的差异在各发生层内表现不一致;腐殖质层和淋溶淀积层的入渗率差异相似,温性落叶阔叶林山地棕壤<常绿落叶阔叶混交林山地黄棕壤<暖性针叶林山地黄壤,入渗主要受土壤质地的影响,质地较重的粉壤土入渗能力比质地较轻的砂质黄壤差;母质层则相反,山地棕壤>山地黄棕壤>山地黄壤,黄壤母质风化度低,土壤密度大,渗透性能较差;同一林型土壤的不同发生层相比较,山地棕壤和山地黄棕壤的入渗能力随土层深度增加而增大,腐殖质层<淋溶淀积层<母质层,而山地黄壤则呈相反趋势。温性落叶阔叶林山地棕壤和常绿落叶阔叶混交林山地黄棕壤的入渗率随时间下降明显,而暖性针叶林山地黄壤降低幅度较小,趋于稳定入渗的时间较短。入渗曲线拟合显示,Horton方程对3种森林土壤入渗过程的模拟效果较好,是描述三峡库区森林土壤入渗过程的适宜模型     

长江源区草地植被退化对土壤持水能力影响

选择长江源区的格尔木市唐古拉山镇作为研究区，通过野外实地采样与室内测试分析相结合，在分析草地植被不同退化阶段和不同土层深度下土壤持水能力特征的基础上，探讨了草地植被退化对土壤持水能力影响。结果表明：（1）在相同草地植被退化阶段，毛管持水量、饱和含水量和田间持水量随土层深度变化的特征基本一致；在相同土层深度上，毛管持水量、饱和含水量和田间持水量随草地植被退化的特征也大体相同。（2）在相同草地植被退化阶段，土壤持水量总体上随土层深度增加而减少，特别是在未退化阶段，10~20 cm土层的毛管持水量、饱和含水量和田间持水量比0~10 cm土层分别减少了12.38%、33.73%和7.64%。（3）在相同土层深度上，土壤持水量总体上随草地植被退化而减少，特别是在0~10 cm土层，轻度退化阶段的毛管持水量、饱和含水量和田间持水量比未退化阶段分别减少了41.52%、59.95%和27.03%。（4）土壤持水量与土壤容重、总碳、有机质和总氮显著相关，它在草地植被不同退化阶段和不同土层深度下的变化可能与地表覆被状况、植物根系数量和分布特征所引起的土壤容重、有机质等变化有关。研究可深化对草地植被退化与土壤持水能力相互关系的理解和认识，并为长江源区生态环境和水资源状况研究提供参考依据。 关键词： 土壤持水能力；草地植被退化；长江源区；影响     

南水北调中线水源地不同植被类型坡地土壤水分特征研究——以秦岭南坡宁陕县寨沟小流域为例

为了解不同植被类型土壤水资源的变化规律,选择南水北调中线水源区宁陕县寨沟区域典型植被针阔混交林、针叶林、板栗林、灌木林、荒坡草地和坡耕地为研究对象,通过样地调查与实验分析的方法对其土壤水分物理特征及有机质含量进行测定研究.结果表明,各种有林地的土壤容重、孔隙度和有机质等理化特征均优于荒坡和坡耕地;针阔混交林土壤含水量最高,蓄水能力明显好于其它植被类型;在垂直剖面上,各种植被类型坡地土壤含水量和饱和蓄水量随土壤深度的增加基本呈递减趋势,但有林地下降幅度较大,表层含水量明显高于荒坡与坡耕地表层.由此可见,在涵养水源方面,针阔混交林最好,针叶林、板栗林与灌木林次之,荒坡与坡耕地较差.     

南水北调中线水源地不同植被类型坡地土壤水分特征研究

为了解不同植被类型土壤水资源的变化规律，选择南水北调中线水源区宁陕县寨沟区域典型植被针阔混交林、针叶林、板栗林、灌木林、荒坡草地和坡耕地为研究对象，通过样地调查与实验分析的方法对其土壤水分物理特征及有机质含量进行测定研究。结果表明，各种有林地的土壤容重、孔隙度和有机质等理化特征均优于荒坡和坡耕地；针阔混交林土壤含水量最高，蓄水能力明显好于其它植被类型；在垂直剖面上，各种植被类型坡地土壤含水量和饱和蓄水量随土壤深度的增加基本呈递减趋势，但有林地下降幅度较大，表层含水量明显高于荒坡与坡耕地表层。由此可见，在涵养水源方面，针阔混交林最好，针叶林、板栗林与灌木林次之，荒坡与坡耕地较差。     

Intercomparison of model predictions of tritium concentrations in soil and foods following acute airborne HTO exposure

This paper describes the results of a model intercomparision exercise for predicting tritium transport through foodchains. Modellers were asked to assume that farmland was exposed for one hour to an average concentration in air of 10⁴ MBq tritium m^-3. They were given the initial soil moisture content and 30 days of hourly averaged historical weather and asked to predict HTO and OBT concentrations in foods at selected times up to 30 days later when crops were assumed to be harvested. Two fumigations were postulated, one at 10.00 h (i.e., in day-light), and the other at 24.00 h (i.e., in darkness).Predicted environmental media concentrations after the daytime exposure agreed within an order of magnitude in most cases. Important sources of differences were variations in choices of numerical values for transport parameters. The different depths of soil layers used in the models appeared to make important contributions to differences in predictions for the given scenario. Following the night-time exposure, however, greater differences in predicted concentrations appeared. These arose largely because of different ways key processes were assumed to be affected by darkness. Uptake of HTO by vegetation and the rate it is converted to OBT were prominent amongst these processes. Further research, experimental data and modelling intercomparisons are required to resolve some of these issues.     

Water balance and nitrate leaching losses under intensive crop production with Ochric Aquic Cambosols in North China Plain

A 2-year field experiment was conducted in an Ochric Aquic Cambosols on a 1-ha field with rotation of winter wheat-summer corn located in Fengqiu County in North China Plain from 1 October 1998 to 30 September 2000 to quantify water balance and evaluate soil water loss by deep drainage and nitrate loss by leaching out of the root zone under the current agricultural practices. Considerable deep drainage was found especially in 1999-2000, during which period up to 273.9 mm of water, accounting for 60.6% of total amount of irrigation and 24.7% of total surface input (rainfall+irrigation), was lost by deep drainage. Even in both wheat cropping seasons when total amount of surface input was less than total actual evapotranspiration, 84.0 and 121.3 mm water was lost by drainage in 1999 and 2000, respectively. Soil NO3(-)-N was transported to deeper soil layers during the growing seasons and considerable amount of NO3(-)-N accumulated at 170 cm soil layer (the bottom of root zone) during the September-October period (the harvest time of summer corn) every year. About 28.6 kg N ha-1 was lost by leaching out of the root zone in 1998-1999 and 81.8 kg N ha-1 in 1999-2000, accounting for 5.9% and 15.7% of total nitrogen (N) inputs, respectively. The significant deep drainage and nitrate leaching loss were attributed to excessive and inappropriate irrigation and nitrogen (N) fertilization, which may result in severe groundwater pollution if current agricultural managements are not changed.     

不同水耕年限稻田土壤水分运动特征研究

利用田间染色示踪和室内样品分析相结合的方法,研究了江汉平原不同水耕年限稻田土壤水分运动特征及其影响因素,期望为制定合理的稻田水分管理措施提供科学依据。结果表明:新稻田(水耕17a)与老稻田(水耕大于100a)土壤理化性质差异显著,引发土壤剖面内不同水分运动特征。新稻田垂直渗漏较老稻田明显,表现为新稻田有更大的染色深度。老稻田染色区域主要集中在耕作层,染色面积为48.52%;犁底层和底土层染色面积较小,仅为3.17%和0.2%。除耕作层外,新稻田其他土层染色面积均大于老稻田,且优先流特征较老稻田明显。老稻田侧向水分运动较新稻田强烈,其侧流剖面的染色面积(15.35%)显著高于新稻田(8.45%),老稻田侧向水流主要发生在犁底层以上。为减少稻田水分渗漏损失,老稻田可以通过减少农田-田埂-沟渠过渡区侧渗实现,而新稻田可采取少量多次的灌溉原则。     

三峡库区主要森林植被类型土壤有机碳贮量研究

根据全国森林资源清查资料,按主要优势树种和分布面积将三峡库区主要森林植被划分为马尾松针叶林、栎类混交林、灌木林等11种主要森林植被类型。基于196个土壤剖面数据,分析了11种主要森林植被类型下土壤有机碳含量、碳密度大小和分配特征。研究发现,三峡库区主要森林植被类型下土壤有机碳含量和碳密度均存在较大差异,二者总体上都随土层加深而降低。11种主要森林植被类型中以杉木针叶林土壤有机碳密度最大,达16.0 kg/m2,温性松林下土壤碳密度最小,仅为7.9 kg/m2。不同植被类型下土壤有机碳贮量在土层中的分配比例也不同,以灌木林和柏木林土壤碳贮量在土层间的差异最大。11种主要森林植被类型土壤平均厚度为56.3～98.5 cm,其中杉木针叶林土壤最厚,达98.5 cm,灌丛土壤最薄,平均厚度仅56.3 cm。三峡库区11种主要森林植被类型总面积为3 313 251 hm2,土壤总有机碳贮量为 366.36 t,其中0～10、10～20、20～40和＞40 cm土层分别占22.90%、18.36%、28.33%和30.41%。     

Vertical migration studies of 137Cs from nuclear weapons fallout and the Chernobyl accident

The vertical migration of (137)Cs originating from nuclear weapons fallout (NWF) and the Chernobyl accident has been studied at 33 sampling sites in western Sweden. An attempt to describe the present depth distribution with a solution to the convection-diffusion equation (CDE) with a pulse-like fallout event as the initial condition was made. A sum of two CDEs describing the NWF and Chernobyl debris was fitted to the actual depth profiles measured by soil sampling. The fitted depth profiles were used to correct in situ measurements for the actual depth distribution, showing good agreement with the accumulated activities in soil samples. As expected, the vertical migration was very slow and most caesium was still present in the upper soil layers. The ranges of the apparent convection velocity, v, and apparent diffusion coefficient, D, were between 0 and 0.35 cm/year and 0.06 and 2.63 cm(2)/year, respectively.     

上海城市河岸带对降雨径流氮垂直去除研究

在上海市城市河岸带人工绿地建设了微区径流场,进行了5次模拟降雨径流实验,研究了人工绿地岸带下渗流中氮浓度和去除率的时空变化。结果表明：人工绿地岸带对垂直下渗流中氮有显著的净化作用,且主要集中于土壤的0~30 cm以内,TN和NH4+去除率在399%和398%以上,NO3-+NO2-去除率除11月为负值外,其余月份均在100%以上;在30~60 cm深度,由于土壤氮的析出导致径流中氮浓度增加,去除率降低;而60~90 cm深度的去除率增加。径流场内下渗流中氮浓度具有明显的水平空间变化,随距入水端距离的增加,30 cm深度下渗流中氮浓度先上升后下降;人工绿地岸带对下渗流中氮的净化作用均随淹水时间的延长呈降低趋势,且季节变化明显,在10月和4月具有较高的去除率,0~30 cm内TN、NH4+和NO3-+NO2-的去除率可分别达635%、891%和416%以上     

Tritium levels in Chinese cabbage and radish plants acutely exposed to HTO vapor at different growth stages

To simulate an acute exposure of Chinese cabbage and radish plants to airborne HTO, the potted plants were exposed to HTO vapor under semi-outdoor conditions for 1h at different times from the early to late growth stages. The plants were grown outdoors and the plant tritium was measured at the end of an exposure (h(0)) and at harvest. The leaf tissue free water tritium (TFWT) concentrations at h(0) were considerably lower than estimated equilibrium concentrations. In the leaves of Chinese cabbage, the exposure at the earlier growth stage generally ended with a higher TFWT concentration. Such a tendency was not apparent either in the leaves or roots of radish. On the other hand, the earlier stage exposure gave rise to lower TFWT concentrations at the harvest of both crops. For the OBT (organically bound tritium), however, the same occurred only in the Chinese cabbage leaves. During the period between the exposure and harvest, the TFWT concentrations reduced by factors of up to 1.1 x 10(6) for the Chinese cabbage leaves and 1.3 x 10(4) for the radish roots. Based on the activity ratios of OBT to TFWT at harvest, it is estimated that OBT mostly contributes much more to the ingestion dose than TFWT does.