Use of cosmogenic for comparing ages of water from three alpine–subalpine basins in the Colorado Front Range

Sueker, Julie K.; Turk, John T.; Michel, Rober L

doi:10.1016/s0169-555x(98)00090-7

Cited by 40 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…35 S has recently been measured in sulfate aerosols in the Antarctic atmosphere to understand the boundary layer chemistry and stratospherictropospheric air mass exchange (10). 35 S measurements in sulfate collected from snow and water samples have been measured to determine the source and age of the ground water and also to understand the melting of glaciers and their contribution to lake and stream water (11). The simultaneous gas and particle speciation and short halflife render 35 S a unique isotope to clock gas to particle transformation and transport.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of neutron leakage at the Fukushima nuclear plant from measurements of radioactive³⁵S in California

Priyadarshi

Domínguez

Thiemens

2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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A recent earthquake and the subsequent tsunami have extensively damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant, releasing harmful radiation into the environment. Despite the obvious implication for human health and the surrounding ecology, there are no quantitative estimates of the neutron flux leakage during the weeks following the earthquake. Here, using measurements of radioactive 35 S contained in sulfate aerosols and SO 2 gas at a coastal site in La Jolla, California, we show that nearly 4 × 10 11 neutrons per m 2 leaked at the Fukushima nuclear power plant before March 20, 2011. A significantly higher 35 SO 4 2− activity as measured on March 28 is in accord with neutrons escaping the reactor core and being absorbed by the coolant seawater 35 Cl to produce 35 S by a (n, p) reaction. Once produced, 35 S oxidizes to 35 SO 2 and 35 SO 4 2− and was then transported to Southern California due to the presence of strong prevailing westerly winds at this time. Based on a moving box model, we show that the observed activity enhancement in 35 SO 4 2− is compatible with long-range transport of the radiation plume from Fukushima. Our model predicts that 35 SO 4 2− , the concentration in the marine boundary layer at Fukushima, was approximately 2 × 10 5 atoms per m 3 , which is approximately 365 times above expected natural concentrations. These measurements and model calculations imply that approximately 0.7% of the total radioactive sulfate present at the marine boundary layer at Fukushima reached Southern California as a result of the trans-Pacific transport.gas to particle conversion | radioactive sulfur-35 T he Fukushima nuclear power plant, situated in northeastern Japan, is one of the largest nuclear power stations in the world, consisting of six boiling water reactors. A recent massive earthquake (9.0 magnitude) (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ earthquakes/eqinthenews/2011/usc0001xgp/) on March 11, 2011, followed by a deadly tsunami has extensively damaged the power plant by disabling the reactor cooling system, which led to nuclear radiation leaks and activation of a 20-km evacuation zone surrounding the plant (http://www.iaea.org). Three weeks subsequent to the earthquake, evidence surfaced of a partial nuclear meltdown in units 1, 2, and 3, visible explosions in units 1 and 3, and a possible uncovering of spent fuels pool associated with units 1, 3, and 4 (http://www.iaea.org). It is suspected that the explosions at unit 3 may have damaged the primary containment vessel. The events at units 1, 2, and 3 have been rated at level 7 (major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures) on the International Nuclear Event Scale (http://www.iaea.org). The earthquake triggered the automatic shutdown of the three operating reactors-units 1, 2, and 3-and the control rods were completely inserted to terminate the nuclear fission reaction occurring within the fuel core. The details of a nuclear reactor design and operations...

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confidence: 99%

Evidence of neutron leakage at the Fukushima nuclear plant from measurements of radioactive³⁵S in California

Priyadarshi

Domínguez

Thiemens

2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Measurements of 35 S in aerosol sulfate may be used to better resolve aerosol aging and chemistry, lifetimes of aerosol SO 2− 4 and gas phase SO 2 , and provide a better measure of boundary layer dynamics (9,10). Previous 35 S measurements have been used to calculate SO 2 fluxes (9,(11)(12)(13)(14) and depositional rates (wet and dry) (9,12,15,16) and trace atmospheric sulfate deposition into lakes, rivers (17), and catchments (18)(19)(20)(21)(22). Some of these papers have included measurements of 35 SO 2− 4 in bulk aerosols (9,23).…”

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confidence: 99%

Optimized low-level liquid scintillation spectroscopy of ³⁵ S for atmospheric and biogeochemical chemistry applications

Brothers

Domínguez

Abramian

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Anthropogenic activities, dominated by emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), have perturbed the global sulfur (S) cycle. Uncertainties in timescales of S transport and chemistry in the atmosphere lead to uncertainties in the predicted impact of S emissions. Measurements of cosmogenic 35 S may potentially be used to resolve existing uncertainties in the photochemical and chemical transformation of S in the environment. The lack of a simple, effective, and highly sensitive technique to measure 35 S activity in samples with low activities may explain the scarcity of published measurements. We present a set of new sample handling and measurement procedures optimized for the measurement of 35 S in natural samples with activities as low as 0.20 dpm above background (2σ, integration time ¼ 2 hr). We also report simultaneous measurements of aerosol ( 35 SO 4 ) and gas phase ( 35 SO 2 ) collected at inland and coastal locations; the range of observed activities corresponds to SO 2 residence lifetimes of 0.2 AE 0.04 ðcoastalÞ − 22.3 dAE 0.04 ðinlandÞ. These optimized techniques offer the potential for resolving atmospheric processes that occur on 6-12-hour timescales as well as resolving transport phenomena such as stratospheric mixing into the troposphere.aerosol sulfate | sulfur cycle | dry deposition | sulfur dioxide residence times A ccording to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (1) anthropogenic emissions of sulfur dioxide have perturbed the sulfur cycle on local, regional, and global scales. These emissions and their oxidized end products lead to increases in acid rain (H 2 SO 4 ) and aerosol sulfate (SO 2− 4 ) concentrations that play a significant role in climate and the global sulfur cycle. Sulfurcontaining aerosol particles serve as cloud condensation nuclei affecting cloud formation and the hydrological cycle. Our knowledge of the chemical and photochemical processes that govern the chemical transformations and transport of sulfur compounds in the atmosphere is incomplete due to the complex, multivalent nature of sulfur and uncertainties in the understanding of aerosol chemistry. Sulfur in the atmosphere exists simultaneously as a solid and gas, further complicating matters. The development of new and/or improved analytical techniques to study the sulfur cycle on short timescales (hours to days) is, therefore, of considerable importance. Here we describe significant advances in the detection sensitivity of the cosmogenic isotope 35 S that can be used as a tracer of gas and aerosol phase lifetimes and turnover kinetics with high time and aerosol size resolutions.Stable isotopic measurements of atmospheric species such as nitrate (NO 1− 3 ) and sulfate (SO 2− 4 ) have recently been used to provide strong constraints on the oxidative processing of their precursors, NO x and SO x , in the atmosphere (2-6). The radionuclide 35 S (β-decay to 35 Cl, t 1∕2 ¼ 87.4 d) is continuously produced in the atmosphere by the interaction of cosmic rays with 40 Ar and provides an additional opportunity for tracing atmo...

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“…In these settings, stream and snow [SO 4 ] are low, and the hydrologic SO 4 budget is dominated by atmospheric inputs that have relatively high 35 S activities [29][30][31][32]. In contrast, recharge water and groundwater associated with MAR operations will have higher sulfate concentrations, low to intermediate 35 S activities, and the potential for biogeochemical cycling.…”

Section: Geochemistry Of 35 Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Apparent Groundwater Ages near Managed Aquifer Recharge Operations Using Radio-Sulfur (35S) as an Intrinsic Tracer

Clark

Urióstegui

Bibby

et al. 2016

Water

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Abstract:The application of the cosmogenic radioisotope sulfur-35 ( 35 S) as a chronometer near spreading basins is evaluated at two well-established Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) sites: the Atlantis facility (South Africa) and Orange County Water District's (OCWD's) Kraemer Basin (Northern Orange County, CA, USA). Source water for both of these sites includes recycled wastewater. Despite lying nearer to the outlet end of their respective watersheds than to the headwaters, 35 S was detected in most of the water sampled, including from wells found close to the spreading ponds and in the source water. Dilution with 35 S-dead continental SO 4 was minimal, a surprising finding given its short~3 month half-life. The initial work at the Atlantis MAR site demonstrated that remote laboratories could be set up and that small volume samples-saline solutions collected after the resin elution step from the recently developed batch method described below-can be stored and transported to the counting laboratory. This study also showed that the batch method needed to be altered to remove unknown compounds eluted from the resin along with SO 4 . Using the improved batch method, times series measurements of both source and well water from OCWD's MAR site showed significant temporal variations. This result indicates that during future studies, monthly to semi-monthly sampling should be conducted. Nevertheless, both of these initial studies suggest the 35 S chronometer may become a valuable tool for managing MAR sites where regulations require minimum retention times.

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Use of cosmogenic for comparing ages of water from three alpine–subalpine basins in the Colorado Front Range

Cited by 40 publications

References 23 publications

Evidence of neutron leakage at the Fukushima nuclear plant from measurements of radioactive³⁵S in California

Evidence of neutron leakage at the Fukushima nuclear plant from measurements of radioactive³⁵S in California

Optimized low-level liquid scintillation spectroscopy of ³⁵ S for atmospheric and biogeochemical chemistry applications

Quantifying Apparent Groundwater Ages near Managed Aquifer Recharge Operations Using Radio-Sulfur (35S) as an Intrinsic Tracer

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Use of cosmogenic for comparing ages of water from three alpine–subalpine basins in the Colorado Front Range

Cited by 40 publications

References 23 publications

Evidence of neutron leakage at the Fukushima nuclear plant from measurements of radioactive35S in California

Evidence of neutron leakage at the Fukushima nuclear plant from measurements of radioactive35S in California

Optimized low-level liquid scintillation spectroscopy of 35 S for atmospheric and biogeochemical chemistry applications

Quantifying Apparent Groundwater Ages near Managed Aquifer Recharge Operations Using Radio-Sulfur (35S) as an Intrinsic Tracer

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Evidence of neutron leakage at the Fukushima nuclear plant from measurements of radioactive³⁵S in California

Evidence of neutron leakage at the Fukushima nuclear plant from measurements of radioactive³⁵S in California

Optimized low-level liquid scintillation spectroscopy of ³⁵ S for atmospheric and biogeochemical chemistry applications