Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-03T13:51:33.781Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4 - Radionuclide Distributions and Their Value as Environmental Clocks and Tracers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2021

R. J. Pentreath
R. J. Pentreath
Affiliation:
University of Reading
Get access

Summary

An obvious feature of the presence of radionuclides in the environment, regardless of their origin, is that their different rates of decay have the potential to estimate the time elapsed since certain events or processes took place. Thus they could be used in a sequential manner, using ratios of parent and daughter radionuclides at different points in time, or in a parallel manner, by comparing the ratios of two or more radionuclides of the same element over time. And the passage of time itself as estimated using radionuclides could in turn be theoretically used in various contexts, such as time before the present, the time that had elapsed between two events (such as birth and death) at some previous period in time, or the time elapsed to indicate the rate at which a specific process takes place. So to what extent do such possibilities exist in a practical sense?

Type
Chapter
Information
Radioecology
Sources and Consequences of Ionising Radiation in the Environment
 , pp. 126 - 171
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Patterson, C. C. 1956. Age of meteorites and the Earth. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 10: 230–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, J., N, Nelson, R., & Campana, S.E. 1991. The use of 210Pb/226Ra and 228Th/228Ra disequilibria in the aging of otoliths of marine fish. In Kershaw, P. J. & Woodhead, D. S. (eds.), Radionuclides in the Study of Marine Processes.Philadelphia: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Libby, W. F. 1946. Atmospheric helium three and radiocarbon from cosmic radiation. Phys. Rev. 69: 11–12.Google Scholar
Arnold, J. R., & Libby, W. F. 1949. Age determinations by radiocarbon content: checks with samples of known age. Science 110: 678–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Suess, H. E. 1955. Radiocarbon concentration in modern wood. Science 122: 415–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nielsen, J., Hedeholm, R. B., Heinemeier, J., et al. 2016. Eye lens radiocarbon reveals centuries of longevity in the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus). Science 353: 702–4.Google Scholar
Ong, J. J. L., Meekan, M. G., Hsu, H. H., Fanning, L. P., & Campana, S. E. 2020. Annual bands in vertebrae validated by bomb radiocarbon assays provide estimates of age and growth of whale sharks. Front. Mar. Sci. 7: Article 188.Google Scholar
Cooper, J. R., Randle, K., & Sokhi, R. S. 2003. Radioactive Releases in the Environment: Impact and Assessment. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
IAEA. 1985. The Radiological Impact of Radionuclides Dispersed on a Regional and Global Scale: Methods for Assessment and their Application. Technical Report Series No. 250. Vienna: International Atomic Energy Agency.Google Scholar
IAEA. 2001. Generic Models for Use in Assessing the Impact of Discharges of Radioactive Substances to the Environment. Safety Series Report No. 19. Vienna: International Atomic Energy Agency.Google Scholar
Klos, R., & Thorne, M. C. 2020. Use of interaction matrices to formalise the development of conceptual models of contaminant transport in the biosphere and the translation of those conceptual models into mathematical models. J. Radiol. Prot. 40: 40–67.Google Scholar
Nelson, D. M., & Lovett, M. B. 1978. Oxidation state of plutonium in the Irish Sea. Nature (London) 276: 599–601.Google Scholar
Pentreath, R. J., & Harvey, B. R. 1981. The presence of 237Np in the Irish Sea. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 6: 243–7.Google Scholar
Pentreath, R. J. 1987. The interaction with suspended and settled sedimentary materials of long-lived radionuclides discharged into United Kingdom coastal waters. Cont. Shelf Res. 7: 1457–69.Google Scholar
Broecker, W. S., & Peng, T-H. 1982. Tracers in the Sea. New York: Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, Columbia University.Google Scholar
Pilson, M. E. Q. 1998. An Introduction to the Chemistry of the Sea.Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
UNSCEAR. 1982. Report to the General Assembly. United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. New York:United Nations.Google Scholar
Israelsson, S., Knudson, E., & Ungethum, E. 1973. Simultaneous measurements of radon (222Rn) and thoron (220Rn) in the atmospheric surface layer. Tellus 25: 281–90.Google Scholar
Turekian, K., Nozaki, Y., & Benninger, L. K. 1977. Geochemistry of atmospheric radon and radon products. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 5: 227–55.Google Scholar
Zahorowski, W., Chambers, S. D., & Henderson-Sellers, A. 2004. Ground based radon-222 observations and their application to atmospheric studies. J. Environ. Radioact. 76: 3–33.Google Scholar
Li, Y-H., & Chan, L. H. 1979. Desorption of Ba and 226Ra from river-borne sediments in the Hudson estuary. Earth. Planet. Sci. Lett. 43: 343–50.Google Scholar
Pentreath, R. J. 1984. Alpha-emitting nuclides in the environment. Nucl. Inst. Methods 223: 493–501.Google Scholar
Kaufman, A., Li, Y-H., & Turekian, K. K. 1981. The removal rates of 234Th and 228Th from waters of the New York Bight, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 54: 385–92.Google Scholar
Santschi, P. H., Li, Y-H., & Bell, J. 1979. Natural radionuclides in the water of Narragansett Bay, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 45: 201–13.Google Scholar
Aller, R. C., Benninger, L. K., & Cochran, J. K. 1980. Tracking particle associated processes in nearshore environments by use of 234Th/238 U disequilibrium, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 47: 161–75.Google Scholar
Kershaw, P. J., Gurbutt, P. A., & Young, A. K. 1988. Use of 234Th/238U data to control scavenging in a water quality model. ICES C.M. 1988/C5.Google Scholar
Koczy, F. F. 1958. Natural radium as a tracer in the ocean. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference On Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Geneva, 18: 351–7.Google Scholar
Wilkening, M. H., & Clements, W. E. 1975. Radon 222 from the ocean surface. J. Geophys. Res. 80: 3828–30.Google Scholar
Östland, H. G., & Rooth, C. G. H. 1990. The North Atlantic tritium and radiocarbon transits 1972–1983. J. Geophys., Res. 95:20147–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beer, J., Blinov, A., Bonani, G., et al.1990. Use of 10Be in polar ice to trace the 11-year cycle of solar activity. Nature 347: 164–6.Google Scholar
Paul, M., Kaufman, A., Magaritz, M., et al. 1986. A new 36Cl hydrological model and 36Cl systematics in the Jordan River/Dead Sea system. Nature 321: 511–15.Google Scholar
Ritchie, J. C., & McHenry, J. R. 1990. Application of radioactive fallout cesium-137 for measuring soil erosion and sediment accumulation rates and patterns: a review. J. Environ. Qual. 19: 215–33.Google Scholar
Woodhead, D. S., & Pentreath, R. J. 1992. The dispersal of radionuclides in the sea. In A.D.Bradshaw, Southwood, Sir R. & Warner, Sir F., eds., The Treatment and Handing of Wastes London: The Royal Society. 131–52.Google Scholar
Kershaw, P. J., & Baxter, A. 1995. The transfer of reprocessing wastes from north-west Europe to the Arctic. Deep-Sea Res. II 42: 1413–48.Google Scholar
McCubbin, D., Leonard, K. S., Brown, J. Kershaw, P. J., Bonfield, R. A., & Peak, T. 2002. Further studies on the distribution of technetium-99 and caesium-137 in UK and European coastal waters. Cont. Shelf Res. 22: 1417–45.Google Scholar
Guegueniat, P., Gandon, R., Baron, Y., et al. 1988. Utilisation de radionucléides artificiels (125Sb, 137Cs, 134Cs) pour l’observation (1983–1986) des déplacements de masses d’eau en Manche, 260-70. In Guary, J. C., Guegueniat, P., & Pentreath, R. J., eds. Radionuclides: A Tool for Oceanography, 260–70. Philadelphia: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Walker, M. I., McKay, W. A., Pattenden, N. J., & Liss, P. S. 1986. Actinide enrichment in marine aerosols. Nature (London), 323: 141–3.Google Scholar
Goldberg, E. D. 1963. Geochronology with 210Pb. In Radioactivity Dating, 121–31. Vienna: International Atomic Energy Agency.Google Scholar
Kershaw, P. J., Swift, D. J., & Denoon, D. C. 1988. Evidence of recent sedimentation in the eastern Irish Sea. Marine Geol. 85: 1–14.Google Scholar
Kershaw, P. J., Swift, D. J., Pentreath, R. J., & Lovett, M. B. 1983. Plutonium redistribution by biological activity in Irish Sea sediments. Nature (London) 306: 774–5.Google Scholar
Hunt, J., Leonard, K., & Hughes, L. 2013. Artificial radionuclides in the Irish Sea from Sellafield: remobilisation revisited. J. Radiol. Prot. 33: 261–79.Google Scholar
Hamilton, E. I. 1999. The role of near-shore industrial waste releases in the dispersion of radionuclides in the N E Irish Sea. J. Env. Radioact. 44: 297–333.Google Scholar
Kershaw, P. J., Sampson, K. E., McCarthy, W., & Scott, R. D. 1995. The measurement of the isotopic composition of plutonium in an Irish Sea sediment by mass spectrometry. J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. Art. 198: 113–24.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×