Statistical Analysis of Gamma-emitting Radionuclide Concentrations for Three Fields in Southern Saskatchewan, Canada

Sutherland, Ross A.; Jong, E. de

doi:10.1097/00004032-199004000-00004

Cited by 43 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The level of natural variability demonstrated for the Snowy Mountains sites is consistent with that observed by previous studies, which is typically ̴ ̴ 20% in the case of 137 Cs (Kirchner, 2013;Pennock and Appleby, 2003;Sutherland and de Jong, 1990).The intrinsic spatial variability of 210 Pb ex fallout is less well known, but CVs of ̴ 10% (Porto et al, 2009) …”

Section: Radionuclide Reference Inventoriessupporting

confidence: 89%

The fate of atmospheric metal pollutants in the landscape, Snowy Mountains, south-eastern Australia

Stromsoe¹

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Industrial metals, emitted to the atmosphere by human activity, have been transported and deposited to almost every location on Earth, including Antarctica and Greenland. This is demonstrated by an increasing body of literature in which many atmospheric industrial metals (e.g. Pb, Hg, Cd and Cu) have been shown to be significantly enriched in environmental archives. Studies have largely focussed on peat mires and ice cores, which receive high rates of atmospheric deposition relative to terrestrial inputs. By contrast, few studies have examined the extent of atmospherically derived metals across the wider landscape, where processes such as pedogenesis, erosion and sedimentation affect the spatial extent and magnitude of metal enrichment. In the Snowy Mountains, Australia, atmospheric pollutant metals have previously been identified in alpine peat mires, although their impact on the wider environment has not been assessed. Interest in the fate of atmospheric pollutants in the Snowy Mountains has increased due to the operation of a cloud seeding program in which, silver iodide, AgI, is released to the atmosphere, leading to concerns that silver, Ag, contamination may be accumulating in this ecologically important region. This thesis examines the spatial extent and magnitude of atmospherically derived metals in the SnowyMountains by investigating patterns of enrichment in a range of geomorphic settings and catchment positions, including in soils, peat mires, lakes and reservoirs. The potential movement of metals through the landscape was also assessed by examining rates of geomorphic processes, including rates of pedogenesis and erosion, determined via radionuclides. The thesis was undertaken in three parts which are summarised below. by atmospheric deposition (ombrotrophic peat mires in the upper parts of catchments), the order and magnitude of metal enrichment most closely resembled that of collected aerosols, however, on average enrichment was 5-7 fold lower than in the aerosols. Metals most sensitive to enrichment, i.e., those with low natural abundance in local sediments (Cd, Ag, Sb, Mo), were enriched in all environments including the most geomorphically active settings (tarn lake sediments). In reservoirs, located lower in catchments, patterns of metal enrichment largely reflected concentrations in catchment soils but metals were additionally enriched or depleted depending on their relative particle reactivity. For those metals which are most sensitive to enrichment (Ag, Cd, Sb), the increase in excess flux required to reach trigger value concentrations is lowest in the reservoir sediments (Ag: 13-18, Cd: 7-10 and Sb: 17-61 times the current flux) and highest in the tarn lake (Ag: 60, Cd: 15, Sb: 27 times the current flux) and the peat mire (Ag: 74, Cd: 15, Sb: 18 times the current flux).In part three of this thesis, rates of soil production and soil erosion were quantified using radiocarbon dating, fallout radionuclides and sediment yields in lakes and reservoirs in order to assess the stability of l...

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Section: Radionuclide Reference Inventoriessupporting

confidence: 89%

The fate of atmospheric metal pollutants in the landscape, Snowy Mountains, south-eastern Australia

Stromsoe¹

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“…Even though Ulsh et al [21] observed similarly high values (CV=0.40 and 0.41, respectively) for alpine and montane sites in Colorado (USA) as compared to our site, on a meadow in the City of Salzburg (Austria), Lettner et al [22] observed for the spatial variability of Chernobylderived 137 Cs fallout on a 1-ha area a value of only CV=0.21. Similarly, Sutherland and de Jong [23] found for a native grassland a CV=0.18, and McGee et al [24] for the integrated 137 Cs deposition at an upland peat site a value of 0.24. For a recent review, see Sutherland [25].…”

Section: Back-flow Modelmentioning

confidence: 78%

Spatial variability of the vertical migration of fallout 137 Cs in the soil of a pasture, and consequences for long-term predictions

Bunzl

Schimmack

Zelles

et al. 2000

Radiation and Environmental Biophysics

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Various transport models are presently used to predict the long-term migration behaviour of fallout radiocesium on the soil. To examine to what extent the uncertainty of these predictions is influenced by the spatial variability of the migration rates, we determined the depth profiles of Chernobyl-derived 137Cs at 100 plots in a 100 m x 100 m pasture. These data were used to obtain the frequency distributions of the characteristic transport parameters of three widely used transport models (e.g. dispersion-convection model, residence time model, and back-flow model). The results show that these transport parameters are generally log-normally distributed with a coefficient of variation of about 80%. Finally, each transport model was employed to predict the resulting frequency distribution of the 137Cs inventory in the main root layer (0-7 cm) of the pasture, 20, 50, and 100 years after the deposition. If only the spatial variability of the transport parameters is taken into account, this analysis revealed that the dispersion-convection model and the back-flow model always predicted rather similar, but significantly higher median inventories than those obtained with the residence time model. If, in addition, the spatial variability of the amount of 137Cs deposited is also taken into account, the frequency distributions of the 137Cs inventories in the root layer become so wide that differences in the median inventories predicted by the three models become statistically significant only after 100 years. Several statistically significant correlations between the transport parameters of the three models were also detected.

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“…Cs (Kirchner, 2013;Pennock and Appleby, 2003;Sutherland and de Jong, 1990 Cs (e.g. Shakhashiro and Mabit, 2009).…”

Section: Spatial Variability Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimates of late Holocene soil production and erosion in the Snowy Mountains, Australia

Stromsoe

Marx

Callow

et al. 2016

CATENA

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Soil production in actively uplifting or high precipitation alpine landscapes is potentially rapid. However, these same landscapes are also susceptible to erosion and can be sensitive to changes in climate and anthropogenic activity which can upset the balance between soil production and erosion. The Snowy Mountains, southeastern Australia, are a tectonically stable, low relief, moderate precipitation mountain environment. The alpine area is extensively blanketed by soil that has been subjected to more intensive episodes of erosion during past periods of anthropogenic disturbance and under cold climate conditions of the late Quaternary. In this study, rates of soil development and hillslope erosion were investigated using radiocarbon dating, fallout radionuclides and sediment cores collected from lakes and reservoirs. Estimated Holocene soil development rates were 20-220 t/km2/y. Erosion rates determined from the radionuclides 137Cs and 210Pb were equivocal, due to the inherent spatial variability of radionuclide inventories relative to apparent erosion rates. Estimated average erosion rates over the past 100 years, determined from 210Pbex inventories, were 60 t/km2/y (95% CI: 10, 90). Inventories of 137Cs observed at the same site implied that more recent erosion rates (over the past 60 years) was below the detection limits of the sampling method applied here (i.e. /km2/y). The upper estimate of 90 t/km2/y is comparable to the mean erosion rate estimated using the radionuclide method for uncultivated sites in Australia and is significantly lower than that measured at sites were vegetation cover was disturbed by livestock grazing prior to its exclusion from the alpine area in the 1940s CE. Low erosion and high soil production rates relative to the lowland soils are likely related to extensive vegetation cover, which, in this context, protects soils against erosion and contributes to the formation of organic alpine soils, that rapidly accumulate organic matter by comparison to other soil types. Disciplines Medicine and Health Sciences | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication DetailsStromsoe, N., Marx, S. K., Callow, N., McGowan, H. A. & Heijnis, H. (2016 AbstractSoil production in actively uplifting or high precipitation alpine landscapes is potentially rapid.However, these same landscapes are also susceptible to erosion and can be sensitive to changes in climate and anthropogenic activity which can upset the balance between soil production and erosion. The Snowy Mountains, southeastern Australia, are a tectonically stable, low relief, moderate precipitation mountain environment. The alpine area is extensively blanketed by soil that has been subjected to more intensive episodes of erosion during past periods of anthropogenic disturbance and under cold climate conditions of the late Quaternary. In this study, rates of soil development and hillslope erosion were investigated using radiocarbon dating, fallout radionuclides and sediment cores collected from lakes and reservoirs. the mean erosion rate est...

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Statistical Analysis of Gamma-emitting Radionuclide Concentrations for Three Fields in Southern Saskatchewan, Canada

Cited by 43 publications

References 24 publications

The fate of atmospheric metal pollutants in the landscape, Snowy Mountains, south-eastern Australia

The fate of atmospheric metal pollutants in the landscape, Snowy Mountains, south-eastern Australia

Spatial variability of the vertical migration of fallout 137 Cs in the soil of a pasture, and consequences for long-term predictions

Estimates of late Holocene soil production and erosion in the Snowy Mountains, Australia

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