On the radiocesium carbonate barrier in organics-rich sediments of Lake Juodis, Lithuania

Radiocesium vertical profiles in organics-rich sediments of running shallow eutrophic Lake Juodis (Lithuania) were studied in relation to seasonal variations of vertical profiles (in water column and sediments) of standard variables (pH, redox potential, temperature, oxygen concentrations, conductivity). It is shown that the sedimentation rate, radiocesium mobility and its vertical profiles in sediments are controlled by the vital cycle (processes of the growth, accumulation and decomposition) of green algae covering the main bottom areas of the lake. It is also shown that calcite deposits are formed in the shallow bottom areas that are oxygenated throughout the year because of the photosynthetic activity of the green algae covering the sediment. Formation of the calcite coatings on freshly accumulated organics is remarkable for causing elevated densities of sediment solids in the upper part of the respective vertical profiles. These calcite deposits behave as a barrier for radiocesium backward flux to the bottom water making the respective bottom areas a radionuclide sink. Together with the jelly-structured sediments lying below these deposits, the calcite preserves the shape of the primary radiocesium vertical profiles formed due to free-ion diffusion after the deposition event. It was determined that bottom areas anaerobic in winter are the main radiocesium source in the water column and cause characteristic radiocesium redistribution in surface sediments.     

On seasonal variations of radiocesium speciation in the surface sediments of Lake Juodis, Lithuania

Data on radiocesium speciation measured seasonally in black silt surface sediments in the shallow terrace and in the deepest southern part of Lake Juodis (Lithuania) in 2004-2005 are presented. It is shown that seasonal variations of radiocesium exchangeable fractions in the sediments in the shallow terrace are mainly related to its redistribution due to the vital cycle of green algae covering bottom surfaces - processes of their growth and decomposition. A seasonal course of those fractions in surface sediments of the deepest bottom areas of the lake follows a distinct pattern and is annually recycling. It is maximum in winter and declines due to stagnant bottom water zone disruption in summer. It is shown that surface sediments in the deepest bottom areas of the lake are not a radiocesium source during the formation of the anaerobic zone in bottom water in winter, and act in that case as its acceptor. The radiocesium remobilization to the bottom water is seasonal and site-specific. It is suggested to be due to three main processes: its diffusion from deeper and more active sediments, its redistribution during decomposition of organics freshly accumulated in surface sediments and a radiocesium flux induced by the mechanism of the seasonal anaerobic zone formation in near-bottom water.     

典型城内过富营养湖泊沉积物和间隙水中各形态磷的相关性研究

研究了武汉市繁华市中心典型过富营养湖泊沉积物—间隙水体系磷形态的相关性。对沉积物—间隙水中磷形态的连续提取分析发现,自然粒度下,沉积物中有机质含量与沉积物中有机/细菌聚合磷存在很好的线性相关性,说明沉积物中有机质是有机/细菌聚合磷的源;沉积物中总磷决定间隙水中总溶解性磷和溶解性磷酸盐的含量,并且总磷与间隙水中总溶解性磷和溶解性磷酸盐存在很好的相关性;沉积物中Fe P和Al P分别与间隙水中的Eh和溶解性磷酸盐存在相关性,说明Eh的大小严重影响Fe P和Al P的含量,但是Fe P和Al P含量之和又主导着间隙水中溶解性磷酸盐的含量。对典型市内过富营养湖泊的沉积物－间隙水体系中形态磷的相关性研究,旨在为控制这种典型过富营养湖泊沉积物中磷向水体释放提供理论参考。     

东湖典型区域间隙水中营养盐的时空分布

以富营养化程度严重的浅水湖泊东湖为研究对象,通过持续采样调查,分析并比较了3个典型采样点柱状沉积物间隙水中营养盐的垂直分布和季节变化特征,结果表明东湖沉积物间隙水中营养盐浓度最高值一般出现在-5 cm以上,-5～-10 cm之间有一个快速降低的过程,-10～-26 cm之间趋于稳定,但也有小幅的波动;冬季间隙水中营养盐浓度明显低于其他季节,夏秋两季略高。分析认为沉积物间隙水中营养盐浓度受附近污染源直接影响较大,与上覆水水质有一定相关性,但不显著。间隙水中营养盐的季节变化主要因为冬季污染排放减少加速了间隙水中营养盐向上覆水的扩散、减少了水中营养盐在沉积物表层的沉积,以及温度降低导致微生物活动减少进而降低了有机物的矿化分解量。并且认为常规疏浚深度就可以有效移除东湖表层污染严重的沉积物     

Fuel particles in the Chernobyl cooling pond: current state and prediction for remediation options

During the coming years, a management and remediation strategy for the Chernobyl cooling pond (CP) will be implemented. Remediation options include a controlled reduction in surface water level of the cooling pond and stabilisation of exposed sediments. In terrestrial soils, fuel particles deposited during the Chernobyl accident have now almost completely disintegrated. However, in the CP sediments the majority of ⁹⁰Sr activity is still in the form of fuel particles. Due to the low dissolved oxygen concentration and high pH, dissolution of fuel particles in the CP sediments is significantly slower than in soils. After the planned cessation of water pumping from the Pripyat River to the Pond, significant areas of sediments will be drained and exposed to the air. This will significantly enhance the dissolution rate and, correspondingly, the mobility and bioavailability of radionuclides will increase with time. The rate of acidification of exposed bottom sediments was predicted on the basis of acidification of similar soils after liming. Using empirical equations relating the fuel particle dissolution rate to soil and sediment pH allowed prediction of fuel particle dissolution and ⁹⁰Sr mobilisation for different remediation scenarios. It is shown that in exposed sediments, fuel particles will be almost completely dissolved in 15–25 years, while in parts of the cooling pond which remain flooded, fuel particle dissolution will take about a century.     

A modelling study on 137Cs and 239,240Pu behaviour in the Alborán Sea, western Mediterranean

A model for simulating the dispersion processes of 137Cs and 239,240Pu in the Alborán Sea is described. The model consists of two hydrodynamic models: a 2D depth-averaged model and a two-layer model which provide tidal and geostrophic currents, respectively; a sediment transport model which provides suspended particle concentrations and sedimentation rates over the domain; and the radionuclide dispersion model including interactions of dissolved radionuclides with suspended particles and bed sediments. These processes are formulated using kinetic transfer coefficients. The hydrodynamic and sediment models are run and validated in advance, and their results are then used to simulate the dispersion of 137Cs and 239,240Pu, which are introduced from atmospheric fallout. Radionuclide concentrations in the water column and distributions in bed sediments have been compared with measurements in the sea. Both set of data are, in general, in agreement. The model has also been applied to calculate radionuclide fluxes through the Strait of Gibraltar. These computed fluxes have been compared with previous estimations as well.     

Foliar uptake of Cs from the water column by aquatic macrophytes

A transplant experiment was performed to determine the relative importances of root uptake from the sediments and foliar uptake from the water column in determining the accumulation of ¹³⁷Cs by aquatic macrophytes. Uncontaminated individuals of three species, Brasenia schreberi, Nymphaea odorata and Nymphoides cordata, were transplanted into pots containing either contaminated sediments (i.e. 1.2 Bq ¹³⁷Cs g⁻¹ dry mass) or uncontaminated sediments (i.e. < 0.1 Bq g⁻¹ dry mass) and immersed in Pond B, a former reactor cooling pond where ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in surface waters range from 0.4 to 0.8 Bq liter⁻¹. The plants in uncontaminated sediments rapidly accumulated ¹³⁷Cs from the water column and after 35 days of immersion had ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in leaves that were: (1) not statistically significantly different from those for plants in contaminated sediments; and (2) similar to those for the same species growing naturally in Pond B. The similarity in ¹³⁷Cs concentrations between naturally-occurring plants and those in pots with uncontaminated sediments suggests that foliar uptake from the water column is the principal mode of Cs accumulation by these species in Pond B.     

Aggregation of cohesive sediments induced by internal shear rates with application to sedimentation

An improved model for aggregation and deposition of cohesive sediments in flowing water was formulated as a power function of the sediment concentration and the hydrodynamic forces prevailing in the water column and at the surface of the sediment bed. The aggregation mechanism was described by a removal rate coefficient and an exponent, both of which were expressed as functions of the internal shear rate, which is one of the key parameters influencing particle collisions. Comparison of model predictions with two sets of experimental data showed that the model was capable of adequately representing cohesive sediment removal from the water column. The model formulation was also incorporated into a two-dimensional, vertically-averaged finite element model of sediment transport. The depositional behavior of cohesive sediments was verified by simulating a flume experiment.     

消浪工程对太湖底泥再悬浮及营养盐释放的影响

为了解863消浪工程对太湖底泥再悬浮及营养盐释放的抑制作用,于2005年7月15～17日在工程区投放悬浮物捕获器测定沉积物的再悬浮通量,并分层采集水样进行水体营养盐浓度的垂向分布研究。16日平均风速3 m/s时,测得的再悬浮通量上层最大值为7.22 g/d·m2,下层最大值为41.8 g/d·m2;17日平均风速5 m/s时,测得的再悬浮通量上层最小值24.7 g/d·m2,下层最小值为48.4 g/d·m2,沉积物再悬浮通量与风浪扰动强度关系密切。对比消浪工程区内外沉积物的再悬浮通量表明,消浪工程能够显著减弱风浪对底泥的扰动,抑制沉积物再悬浮,减轻营养盐的内源释放通量。实验结果还表明,太湖水体悬浮物浓度越高,悬浮物的有机质含量就越低,相应地,单位悬浮物中磷的含量也越低。随着风浪扰动的持续和增强,尽管能够将更多的沉积物间隙水中的溶解性磷带入水体,但是,野外观测中发现水体溶解性的磷含量并未相应增高甚至降低,这可能是由于水体中悬浮物浓度越高,对水体溶解性磷的吸附能力也越高,从而使得水中溶解性磷的含量增高不显著甚至降低。     

A blind test of the MOIRA lake model for radiocesium for Lake Uruskul, Russia, contaminated by fallout from the Kyshtym accident in 1957

This paper presents results of a model-test carried out within the framework of the COMETES project (EU). The tested model is a new lake model for radiocesium to be used within the MOIRA decision support system (DSS; MOIRA and COMETES are acronyms for EU-projects). This model has previously been validated against independent data from many lakes covering a wide domain of lake characteristics and been demonstrated to yield excellent predictive power (see H?kanson, Modelling Radiocesium in Lakes and Coastal Areas. Kluwer, Dordrecht, 2000, 215 pp). However, the model has not been tested before for cases other than those related to the Chernobyl fallout in 1986, nor for lakes from this part of the world (Southern Urals) and nor for situations with such heavy fallout as this. The aims of this work were: (1) to carry out a blind test of the model for the case of continental Lake Uruskul, heavily contaminated with 90Sr and 137Cs as a result of the Kyshtym radiation accident (29 September 1957) in the Southern Urals, Russia, and (2) if these tests gave satisfactory results to reconstruct the radiocesium dynamics for fish, water and sediments in the lake. Can the model provide meaningful predictions in a situation such as this? The answer is yes, although there are reservations due to the scarcity of reliable empirical data. From the modelling calculations, it may be noted that the maximum levels of 137Cs in fish (here 400 g ww goldfish), water and sediments were about 100,000 Bq/kg ww, 600 Bq/l and 30,000 Bq/kg dw, respectively. The values in fish are comparable to or higher than the levels in fish in the cooling pond of the Chernobyl NPP. The model also predicts an interesting seasonal pattern in 137Cs levels in sediments. There is also a characteristic "three phase" development for the 137Cs levels in fish: first an initial stage when the 137Cs concentrations in fish approach a maximum value, then a phase with relatively short ecological half-lives followed by a final phase with long ecological half-lives more or less corresponding to the physical decay of radiocesium.     

Anthropogenic impacts on water quality of the lagoonal coast of Fongafale Islet, Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu

Water pollution, evident by negative values of redox potential in waters, occurs at the lagoonal coast located near the densely populated area of Fongafale Islet on Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu, Central Pacific. Sediment microbial quinone analysis revealed that these coastal sediments exhibit 2.7–10.4 times more microbial biomass, significantly different microbial community structure and low microbial diversity, when compared to an undisturbed natural coastal sediment. Thus, the pollution is chronic. By considering the total land use/coverage on the islet, the situation of septic tank installations, temporal changes in water redox potential and Escherichia coli numbers in the coastal waters and the spatial distribution of acid volatile sulfide in the sediments, we conclude that domestic wastewater is the primary source of pollution. This pollution is proposed to occur via the following mechanism: during ebb tides, domestic wastewater leaking from bottomless septic tanks and pit toilets run off into the lagoonal coast. Tide changes control the pollution load of domestic wastewater.     

Distribution of tritium in estuarine waters: the role of organic matter

Tritium is an important environmental radionuclide whose reactivity with ligands and solids in aquatic systems is assumed to be limited. We studied the fractionation and sorption of tritium (added as tritiated water) in river water and seawater, and found that its distribution appears to be influenced by its affinity for organic matter. Tritium rapidly equilibrates with dissolved organic ligands that are retained by a reverse-phase C18 column, and with suspended sediment particles. Significantly, a measurable fraction of sorbed tritium associates with proteinaceous material that is potentially available to sediment-feeding organisms. These characteristics have not been reported previously and cannot be accounted for solely by isotopic exchange with hydrogen. Nevertheless, they are in qualitative agreement with available measurements of tritium in estuarine and coastal waters where its principal discharge is as tritiated water. Further research into the estuarine biogeochemical behaviour of tritium is required and radiological distribution coefficients and concentration factors that are assumed for this radionuclide may require reconsideration.     

Levels of 137Cs in muddy sediments on the seabed in the Bay of Cadiz (Spain). Part II. Model of vertical migration of (137)Cs

This second part of the study reports the development of a model to describe the vertical migration of the artificial radioisotope (137)Cs in the sediment column on the seabed of the Bay of Cadiz. The application of the model provides an overall picture of the process of sedimentation in the Inner Bay of Cadiz. The spatial distribution of the rate of sedimentation enables us to study the sources of sediments and the means by which the sediments have been transported. A method has been derived from the rate of sedimentation to perform the dating of the layers of sediment. The model describes the behaviour of (137)Cs in the area under study, taking into account the time of residence in the zones that are the source of accumulation, the origin of the sedimentary material, together with the diffusion of the radionuclide in the sediment of the seabed.     

Quantitative assessment of the long term behaviour of 90Sr in Lake Uruskul,Southern Urals,Russia

The present paper is aimed at assessing the long term behaviour of 90Sr migration from water to bottom sediments of Lake Uruskul, Southern Urals, Russia. The lake was contaminated following the nuclear accident at the Mayak nuclear complex in 1957 (the Kyshtym accident). Some transfer parameters relevant to the behaviour of 90Sr in the water-sediment system were evaluated: a) the radionuclide migration velocity from the water column to the bottom sediment, b) the radionuclide migration rate from bottom sediment to water, and c) the radionuclide migration rate from bottom sediment to deep sediment. The estimated values of the above parameters were 6.4 x 10(-1) m s(-1), 5.7 x 10(-10) s(-1) and 5.2 x 10(-10) s(-1), respectively. These values were compared with data obtained for some Italian lakes contaminated by 90Sr after the nuclear weapons tests fallout. The relatively low radionuclide migration from water to sediment of these lakes is reflected by the values of the ratio migration velocity/migration rate from sediment to water (4 m and 12 m) that are significantly lower than the corresponding value in the Russian lake (112 m). The peculiar hydrochemical conditions of Lake Uruskul (high pH, high mineralisation, etc.) are considered to be responsible for the high radionuclide migration from water to sediment.     

鄱阳湖丰水期不同底质类型下氮、磷含量分析

以2011年7月份(丰水期)鄱阳湖实测数据为基础,通过不同底质在遥感影像上的光谱特征,将鄱阳湖底质分为沙滩、泥滩和草洲3种类型,并就不同底质类型鄱阳湖水体和底泥总氮(TN)、总磷(TP)含量进行分析。结果表明:(1)底质类型不同时,鄱阳湖表层水体TN、TP含量以及底泥磷含量平均值:沙滩泥滩草洲。底泥TN含量平均值:草洲泥滩沙滩。(2)底质为沙滩的站点主要分布在饶河入湖口至都昌段、赣江北支入湖口至星子段和入江水道前段,饶河、赣江高含量氮、磷的输入,以及沿途陆源污染物的排放,可能是沙滩底质表层水体TN、TP含量较高的一个因素;泥滩底质的站点,有一部分分布在星子至湖口段,该区间陆源污染的影响是泥滩底质表层水体TN、TP含量居次原因之一;而底质为草洲时,草洲对水体中氮、磷的吸收使得草洲底质的站点表层水体TN、TP含量最低。     

低溶解氧对苦草生长的影响

针对太湖梅梁湾生态净化示范区内重建的沉水植物存在的腐烂死亡问题及伴随的底层水体溶解氧偏低现象,在室外模拟生态系统内进行了低氧对沉水植物（苦草）生长的影响试验。结果表明：无论沉积物类型如何,一个月的低氧处理（溶解氧平均值为1.6 mg/L）对苦草株重、株高、分蘖数及叶片数等指标的影响均不明显,对块茎的影响则较显著,表现为块茎数量与重量显著下降。对岸边沉积物处理组而言,低氧对苦草根系的影响显著,表现为根须变细且数量增加,根系活力明显下降,中心沉积物处理组则不显著。同时,低氧处理使岸边沉积物处理组的沉积物氧化还原电位显著下降、水体营养盐浓度上升,尤其是磷酸盐浓度显著增加,中心沉积物处理组的环境理化因子变幅则相对较小。分析认为,低氧对苦草生长的影响虽不明显,但对其种群扩张有潜在的不利作用;梅梁湾生态净化示范区内沉水植物的腐烂死亡,低氧的作用是次要或间接的。     

The dispersion of 137Cs and 239,240Pu in the Rhone River plume: a numerical model

A numerical three dimensional model to simulate the transport of Cs and Pu by the Rhone River plume has been developed. The model solves the hydrodynamic equations, including baroclinic terms (that account for density variations) and a turbulence model, the suspended matter equations, including several particle classes simultaneously, settling, deposition and erosion of the sediment, and the radionuclide dispersion equations. Exchanges of radionuclides between the liquid and solid phases are described in terms of kinetic transfer coefficients. The dependence of these coefficients with water salinity is explicitly included in the model since it changes from freshwater to seawater values in the model domain. Computed activity levels in water, suspended matter and bed sediments are, in general, in agreement with measurements in the area. The model can also give a wide amount of information, as distribution coefficients for total suspended matter and sediments and for each particle class, fractions of radionuclides fixed to solid particles, and vertical profiles of radionuclides and distribution coefficients.     

Particulate and dissolved elemental loads in the Kuji River related to discharge rate

In order to investigate influences of discharge rates on fluvial transport behavior of elements in the Kuji River, Japan, suspended and dissolved phase concentrations in the river water were measured together with the water flow rates. The concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) increased by two or three orders of magnitude with the water discharge, and also had seasonal variations. Adsorptive elements or heavy metal elements, which tend to form insoluble compounds, were present generally as suspended forms in the river waters, and their dissolved form concentrations tended to increase with the water discharge. On the other hand, non-adsorptive elements such as alkali and alkaline-earth elements were present as dissolved forms under a normal flow rate condition, but equivalent quantity of suspended species also occurred under a high flow condition. In this case, the dissolved form concentrations decreased with the water discharge. Characterization of SPM with analyses of chemical compositions, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) indicated that clay mineral such as montmorillonite would be the main carrier material of trace and major elements during the fluvial transport in the Kuji River. Variations of contents of selected elements in SPM with the water discharge indicated that river bottom sediments, which are probably potential sources of SPM added due to high water flow rates, would be different in chemical compositions from SPM floating under a normal flow condition. Variations of chemical compositions of SPM as well as of suspended or dissolved form concentrations of elements in the river waters were formulated as a function of the water discharge rates.     

Radiocesium in North San Francisco Bay and Baja California coastal surface waters

Radiocesium, 137Cs, and rare earth elements (REEs) were determined in suspended material and dissolved fractions of waters across the salinity gradient in North San Francisco Bay (estuary). We describe the variation of this conservative isotope tracer with salinity and sediment load. REE data are used to differentiate marine and terrigenous source terrains for suspended material and dissolved fractions. We estimate that about 1-4 x 10(10) Bq of 137Cs migrates annually on suspended material through the North Bay. In addition, 137Cs concentrations were measured in surface waters off Baja California. Combined in situ water density (sigma(t)) and 137Cs data distinguish between California Current and Gulf of California water, and delineate areas of upwelling, where nutrient-rich, deep Pacific Intermediate water, with little or no 137Cs, is brought to the surface off promontories along Baja California.     

Occurrence of phthalate esters in water and sediment of urban lakes in a subtropical city, Guangzhou, South China

Extensive use of phthalate esters (PAEs) in both industrial processes and consumer products has resulted in the ubiquitous presence of these chemicals in the environment. This study reports the first data on the concentrations of 16 phthalate esters (PAEs) in water and sediments of the urban lakes in Guangzhou City. PAEs were detected in all samples analyzed, mainly originating from urban stormwater runoff, atmospheric deposition, as well as untreated discharge of industrial wastewater and municipal sewage. The Sigma(16)PAEs concentrations in water and sediments ranged from 1.69 to 4.72 microg L(-1) and 2.27 to 74.94 microg g(-1)-dry weight (dw), with the mean concentrations of 2.91 microg L(-1) and 20.85 microg g(-1)-dw, respectively, which indicates that sediment is a significant sink for PAEs. Variability of the Sigma 16PAEs concentrations in water and sediment in the urban lakes was almost consistent. The spatial distribution of PAEs was site-specific. Of the 16 PAEs, DMP, DEP, DnBP, DiBP, DMPP, and DEHP were present in all water and sediment samples. DnBP was abundant in water (53.0-81.2%), while no single dominant congener was found in sediments. The abundances of DiBP were similar to those of DEHP, and DiBP and DEHP collectively accounted for 77.2-97.6% of the Sigma 16PAEs concentrations. Congener specific analysis confirmed that DnBP was a predictive indicator for the dissolved summation operator16 PAEs concentration (correlation coefficient r=0.968, p<0.01), and that DiBP was a predictive indicator for the sediment summation operator16 PAEs concentration (r=0.975, p<0.01). As compared to the results for other studies, the urban lakes of Guangzhou were moderately polluted by PAEs.