Distribution and transport of radionuclides in a boreal mire – assessing past, present and future accumulation of uranium, thorium and radium

Lidman, Fredrik; Ramebäck, Henrik; Bengtsson, Åsa; Laudon, Hjalmar

doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2012.06.010

Cited by 21 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The C2 catchment drains an area of 12 ha with 100% forest cover. The C4 catchment drains an area of 18 ha and is heavily influenced by a mire which covers 44% of the catchment but is located such that 98% of all water leaving the catchment has to pass through the mire complex (Lidman et al ). Water isotope samples from these two catchments and the lake outlet generally bracket the values observed from the downstream sites (Supporting Information Fig.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Headwater lakes and their influence on downstream discharge

Leach

Laudon

2019

Limnol Oceanogr Letters

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Small headwater lakes are common water features in northern environments. These small lakes are often reported to have an influence on downstream water quality; however, few studies have addressed the underlying hydrology of these systems and how small lakes influence downstream discharge or how far downstream these influences persist. We show that catchments with small lakes sustain baseflows compared to catchments without lakes. In addition, small lakes have limited influence on the magnitude and timing of peakflow events, except for immediately downstream of the lake where peakflow hydrographs are characterized by low magnitude and long duration. The relative contribution of lake water to downstream discharge can vary widely in time (between 0% and 75%) and be detectable when lakes make up as little as 0.5% of catchment area. This variability and persistence of lake water in stream networks may have important implications for how we interpret water quality patterns downstream of small lakes.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Headwater lakes and their influence on downstream discharge

Leach

Laudon

2019

Limnol Oceanogr Letters

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“…Hence, if one wishes to stick with the hypothesis that the vast part of the weathering of these elements has occurred throughout the catchment, rather than specifically in the riparian zone, one has to assume that most of the organophilic metals, which now are being released from the riparian zone, were brought there and somehow accumulated during some earlier stage, when the riparian zone acted as a sink. For instance, it is possible that organophilic metals historically accumulated in the organic matter of the riparian zone in the same way as they still do in boreal mires (Lidman et al, 2013. However, as a result of some change in the system, e.g.…”

Section: The Role Of Riparian Soils In the Boreal Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the boreal region the mobility of many metals and miscellaneous hydrophobic substances is strongly connected to the presence of organic matter, by accumulation in both peat and other forms of solid organic matter (e.g. González et al, 2006;Cloy et al, 2009;Lidman et al, 2013) as well as by transport by organic colloids and particles (e.g. Gustafsson et al, 2000;Dahlqvist et al, 2007;Pokrovsky et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From soil water to surface water – how the riparian zone controls element transport from a boreal forest to a stream

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Boreal headwaters are often lined by strips of highly organic soils, which are the last terrestrial environment to leave an imprint on discharging groundwater before it enters a stream. Because these riparian soils are so different from the Podzol soils that dominate much of the boreal landscape, they are known to have a major impact on the biogeochemistry of important elements such as C, N, P and Fe and the transfer of these elements from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems. For most elements, however, the role of the riparian zone has remained unclear, although it should be expected that the mobility of many elements is affected by changes in, for example, pH, redox potential and concentration of organic carbon as they are transported through the riparian zone. Therefore, soil water and groundwater was sampled at different depths along a 22 m hillslope transect in the Krycklan catchment in northern Sweden using soil lysimeters and analysed for a large number of major and trace elements (Al, As, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Rb, Se, Si, Sr, Th, Ti, U, V, Zn, Zr) and other parameters such as sulfate and total organic carbon (TOC). The results showed that the concentrations of most investigated elements increased substantially (up to 60 times) as the water flowed from the uphill mineral soils and into the riparian zone, largely as a result of higher TOC concentrations. The stream water concentrations of these elements were typically somewhat lower than in the riparian zone, but still considerably higher than in the uphill mineral soils, which suggests that riparian soils have a decisive impact on the water quality of boreal streams. The degree of enrichment in the riparian zone for different elements could be linked to the affinity for organic matter, indicating that the pattern with strongly elevated concentrations in riparian soils is typical for organophilic substances. One likely explanation is that the solubility of many organophilic elements increases as a result of the higher concentrations of TOC in the riparian zone. Elements with low or modest affinity for organic matter (e.g. Na, Cl, K, Mg and Ca) occurred in similar or lower concentrations in the riparian zone. Despite the elevated concentrations of many elements in riparian soil water and groundwater, no increase in the concentrations in biota could be observed (bilberry leaves and spruce shoots).

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“…For many metals, a strong negative correlation between element specific fluxes and wetlands can be explained through a combination of low weathering rates in peat soils and the accumulation of organophilic metals in mires at the mineral/peat interface. 78 This conceptual model of sub-catchment heterogeneity cannot, however, explain the spatial patters for elements with low affinity for organic matter, redoxsensitive solutes, and compounds with exceptionally high atmospheric deposition. 79,80 Therefore, while several steps have been taken toward understanding how patchiness at this spatial scale influence the entire biogeochemical soup that comprises water quality, much research remains to reach the goal of a universal model that includes all natural and anthropogenic solutes and compounds.…”

Section: Sub-catchment Heterogeneitymentioning

confidence: 99%

How landscape organization and scale shape catchment hydrology and biogeochemistry: insights from a long‐term catchment study

Laudon

Sponseller

2017

WIREs Water

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Catchment science plays a critical role in the protection of water resources in the face of ongoing changes in climate, long‐range transport of air pollutants, and land use. Addressing these challenges, however, requires improved understanding of how, when, and where changes in water quantity and quality occur within river networks. To reach these goals, we must recognize how different catchment features are organized to regulate surface chemistry at multiple scales, from processes controlling headwaters, to the downstream mixing of water from multiple landscape sources and deep aquifers. Here we synthesize 30‐years of hydrological and biogeochemical research from the Krycklan catchment study (KCS) in northern Sweden to demonstrate the benefits of coupling long‐term monitoring with multi‐scale research to advance our understanding of catchment functioning across space and time. We show that the regulation of hydrological and biogeochemical patterns in the KCS can be decomposed into four, hierarchically structured landscape features that include: (1) transmissivity and reactivity of dominant source layers within riparian soils, (2) spatial arrangement of groundwater input zones that govern water and solute fluxes at reach‐ to segment‐scales, (3) landscape scale heterogeneity (forests, mires, and lakes) that generates unique biogeochemical signals downstream, and (4) broad‐scale mixing of surface streams with deep groundwater contributions. While this set of features are perhaps specific to the study region, analogous hierarchical controls are likely to be widespread. Resolving these scale dependent processes is important for predicting how, when, and where different environmental changes may influence patterns of surface water chemistry within river networks. WIREs Water 2018, 5:e1265. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1265 This article is categorized under: Science of Water > Hydrological Processes Science of Water > Water and Environmental Change Science of Water > Methods

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Distribution and transport of radionuclides in a boreal mire – assessing past, present and future accumulation of uranium, thorium and radium

Cited by 21 publications

References 41 publications

Headwater lakes and their influence on downstream discharge

Headwater lakes and their influence on downstream discharge

From soil water to surface water – how the riparian zone controls element transport from a boreal forest to a stream

How landscape organization and scale shape catchment hydrology and biogeochemistry: insights from a long‐term catchment study

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