Comparative trends and seasonal variation of ⁷Be, ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs at two altitude sites in the central part of France

The atmospheric concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs, ²¹⁰Pb, and ⁷Be were measured over a three-year period at two research stations located less than 12 km apart and at different altitudes (puy de Dôme, 1465 m a.s.l. and Opme, 660 m a.s.l., France). Seasonal trends in all radionuclides were observed at both stations, with high concentration measured during the summer and low concentrations during the winter. The ²¹⁰Pb concentrations at both stations were similar to each other. Higher concentrations of both ⁷Be and ¹³⁷Cs were measured at puy de Dôme than at Opme. These observations can be explained by the stratospheric and upper tropospheric sources of ⁷Be and the long-range transportation of ¹³⁷Cs at high altitudes. Air mass origins during sampling periods were classified into several groups by their route to the stations (marine, marine modified, continental and mediterranean). We observed that ⁷Be concentrations were constant regardless of the air mass origins, unlike ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb concentrations that increased when influenced by continental air masses. Higher ⁷Be concentrations were observed when air masses were arriving from the upper troposphere than from the boundary layer, the opposite was observed for ¹³⁷Cs. The temporal trend in concentrations of ⁷Be shows good agreement with previous modelling studies suggesting that there is a good understanding of its sources and the atmospheric vertical mixing of this radionuclide. The sources and mixing of ²¹⁰Pb, however, seem to be more complex than it appeared to be in previous modelling studies.     

Retention of 137cesium in acid sulphate soils of South Central Thailand

Adsorption and desorption of ¹³⁷Cs by acid sulphate soils from the Nakhon Nayok province, South Central Plain of Thailand located near the Ongkarak Nuclear Research Center (ONRC) were investigated using a batch equilibration technique. The influence of added limestone (12 and 18 tons ha^-1) on ¹³⁷Cs adsorption-desorption was studied. Based on Freundlich isotherms, both adsorption and desorption of ¹³⁷Cs were nonlinear. A large portion (98.26-99.97%) of added ¹³⁷Cs (3.7 × 10³-7.03 × 10⁵ Bq l^-1) was sorbed by the soils with or without added lime. The higher lime treatments, however, favoured stronger adsorption of ¹³⁷Cs as compared with soil with no lime, which was supported by higher K_ads values. The addition of lime, the cation exchange capacity and pH of the soil increased and hence favoured the stronger adsorption of ¹³⁷Cs. Acid sulphate soils with a high clay content, medium to high organic matter, high CEC, and predominant clay types consisting of a mixture of illite, kaolinite, and montmorillonite were the main soil factors contributing to the high ¹³⁷Cs adsorption capacity. Competing cations such as NH₄⁺, K⁺, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺ had little influence on ¹³⁷Cs adsorption as compared with liming, where a significant positive correlation between K_ads and soil pH was observed. The ¹³⁷Cs adsorption-desorption characteristics of the acid sulphate soils studied exhibited a very strong irreversible sorption pattern. Only a small portion (0.09-0.58%) of ¹³⁷Cs adsorbed at the highest added initial ¹³⁷Cs concentration was desorbed by four successive soil extractions. Results clearly demonstrated that Nakhon Nayok province acid sulphate soils have a high ¹³⁷Cs adsorption capacity, which limits the ¹³⁷Cs bioavailability.     

90Sr、137Cs在某种包气带土壤中的迁移研究

本文叙述了放射性废物中具有代表性的裂变核素^90Sr、^137Cs在某种包气带土壤中的迁移情况研究。使用小型土柱的氚水淋洗实验研究土壤水力学性质,最后进行大型土柱实验研究核素在该包气带土壤中的迁移,并对实验情况进行了数学模拟。用该土壤原状土进行小型土柱的氚水淋洗试验,测得了土壤的水力弥散度为0．32cm,土壤有效孔隙度为0．35。经过290天的大型柱迁移试验表明,土壤对^90Sr的阻滞系数为220．4,在模拟实际降雨量的情况下,^90Sr的平均迁移速度为0．63cm/y,^137Cs在大型柱试验中没有明显迁移。数值模拟^90Sr、^137Cs迁移,得出经过上述大型柱试验相同的条件下,^90Sr、^137Cs迁移的峰位置基本和大型柱试验结果相同。     

PERSISTING SEDIMENT YIELDS AND SEDIMENT DELWERY CHANGES1

ABSTRACT: The Buffalo River is a tributary to the Mississippi River in west-central Wisconsin that drains a watershed dominated by agricultural land uses. Since 1935, backwater from Lock and Dam 4 on the Mississippi River has inundated the mouth of the Buffalo's valley. Resurveys of a transect first surveyed across the lake in 1935 and cesium-137 dating of backwater sediments reveal that sedimentation rates at the Buffalo's mouth have remained unchanged since the mid-1940s. Study results indicate that sediment yields from the watershed have persisted at relatively high levels over a period of several decades despite pronounced trends toward less cultivated land and major efforts to control soil erosion from agricultural land. The maintenance of sediment yields is probably due to increased channel conveyance capacities resulting from incision along some tributary streams since the early 1950s. Post-1950 incision extended the network of historical incised tributary channels, enhancing the efficient delivery of sediment from upland sources to downstream sites.     

Sediment environmental capacity of 137Cs in Daya Bay

Sediment environmental capacity of pollutants is very important for marine environmental management. Based on the methodology of a study on water, soil environmental capacity, and mass conservation theory in a system, the concept and model on sediment environmental capacity for ¹³⁷Cs in Daya Bay were developed. The static capacity for ¹³⁷Cs in the upper sediment near the shore at a shallow area was calculated, and the annual dynamic capacity and total dynamic capacity were also calculated through determination of the typical biomass in the sediment. The results showed that the estimated environmental capacity for ¹³⁷Cs in sediments was approximately equal to the current input of ¹³⁷Cs into the sediments. Controlling the input of ¹³⁷Cs in the sediments within the environmental capacity guarantees the sustainability of the current situation of the Daya Bay ecosystem and avoidance of a significant degradation of the system. Translated from Research of Environmental Sciences, 2005, 18(3): 11–14 [译自: 环境科学研究]     

骆马湖现代沉积物137Cs和210Pbex的测定分析与环境指示意义

选取骆马湖进湖口、湖中心和出湖口3个位置的沉积物柱芯样品,采用放射性核素137Cs、210Pbex纪年技术定年,对其垂向分布特征及沉积速率指标变化对比分析,并测定沉积物中重金属垂直剖面分布。结果表明：137Cs数值较低,不足以建立137Cs计年时标;210Pbex比活度随深度增加大致呈指数降低,采用210Pbex CIC模式计算获得3个采样点的平均沉积速率及对应的沉积年代区间,进湖口相比湖中心和出湖口沉积速率较低,这与人为活动和水流因素有关;近50年来,骆马湖重金属污染物蓄积峰值总体出现在1975—1977年及1989—1994年两个时期,在2008年之后重金属的蓄积特征呈现逐渐增加趋势     

3种典型陆地生态系统土壤137Cs和有机碳含量研究

选择位于广东小良的自然林、光裸地和森林恢复地3种典型陆地生态系统类型,通过研究土壤137Cs和土壤有机碳(SOC)的含量与分布,分析137Cs与SOC的关系,尝试运用137Cs法研究典型陆地生态系统类型的土壤侵蚀与土壤碳动态.结果显示,自然林为研究区土壤137Cs的背景点,其0~40cm土壤中的137Cs平均活度值为(0.99±0.28)Bq/kg,137Cs背景值为(448.1±56.3)Bq/m2,0~40cm的SOC储量为5.93kg/m2.森林恢复地和光裸地土壤中没有检出137Cs,表明森林恢复地和光裸地发生了严重的土壤侵蚀.自然林土壤137Cs深度分布形态为非指数衰减形态,137Cs浓度峰值出现在次表层.自然林的各土层137Cs活度与SOC含量的相关关系不显著(P>0.1).研究区137Cs含量的背景值很低.基于137Cs法计算研究区及相似地区的SOC侵蚀量有一定局限性.     

三岔湖沉积物揭示的湖泊营养化进程与人类活动的关系

在210Pb和137Cs定年基础上,研究了三岔湖沉积物理化性质的垂直和水平变化格局,揭示了三岔湖沉积物的特性、沉积速率、碳氮磷变化格局与人类活动和湖泊富营养化进程的关系.三岔湖不同时期沉积物的TOC、TN、TP与三岔湖水质呈现同样的变化格局.建库初期三岔湖水质为贫营养状态,随着人类活动的加剧,水质不断恶化.沉积物的沉积速率和碳氮磷含量的变化与人类活动密切相关,工、农、渔业、旅游业等人类活动导致三岔湖湖泊营养化进程加快.控制人类活动的强度是改善湖泊水质的关键.网箱养殖是三岔湖沉积物中磷的最重要来源,停养后沉积物中磷含量的下降将是一个相当漫长的过程.     

What Anthropogenic Radionuclides (90Sr and 137Cs in Atmospheric Deposition, Surface Soils and Aeolian Dusts Suggest for Dust Transport over Japan

Currently, atmospheric anthropogenic radionuclides (particulate) are controlled by suspension of the surface dust containing those radionuclides (resuspension). We have found, therefore, that such radionuclides can be used as tracers of the surface dust suspension, transport and its subsequent deposition in distant areas. The ¹³⁷Cs/⁹⁰Sr activity ratios in the atmospheric deposition, without the direct influence of nuclear tests and accidents, at the Meteorological Research Institute (MRI, Tsukuba, Japan) during the 1990s were fairly low (average: 2.1). This value is not in agreement with the ratios in Japanese surface soils (range of averages: 4–7), which had been considered as the primary source of the deposited dust. This suggests that the current atmospheric dust deposition in Japan is a mixture of local and remote components. The remote component could be an aeolian dust that has been transported long distances from arid areas. The major component is most likely to be Asian dust. It was further hypothesized that other remote source may exist beyond the Asian domain, based on accumulated observations and model results. To obtain more information about the dust transport, Sahara dust deposited in Monaco in 2002 and a suspended dust collected in the Taklamakan area in 2001 were analyzed for ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs. The Taklamakan dust exhibited a ¹³⁷Cs/⁹⁰Sr ratio of about 4, which is within the range of atmospheric deposition observed at the MRI, while the Sahara dust exhibited a higher ¹³⁷Cs/⁹⁰Sr ratio (about 13). Although the present Sahara datum was negative for our hypothesis of ‘hyper-range transport’, the seasonal change of the ¹³⁷Cs/⁹⁰Sr ratio in the atmospheric deposition observed at the MRI requires an aeolian dust source having a low ¹³⁷Cs/⁹⁰Sr ratio, other than Asian dust.