Determination of radon distribution patterns in the upper soil as a tool for the localization of subsurface NAPL contamination

A radon survey was carried out at an abandoned military airfield, heavily contaminated with non-aqueous phase-liquids (NAPLs). Geo-statistical analysis of the data was used to confirm the validity of the chosen soil gas sampling pattern. The survey revealed a non-uniform distribution of the soil gas radon concentration in the upper soil in spite of a virtually homogenous geological situation. The radon distribution pattern showed minimum zones with radon concentrations decreased by up to 90% with regard to the local background level. The determined radon minimum anomalies could be explicitly associated with the NAPL subsurface contamination. The observed effect is due to the strong partitioning of radon into NAPLs from soil gas or groundwater. Corresponding partitioning coefficients were determined in the laboratory for some NAPL. As result of the study, it was shown that naturally occurring soil gas radon has the potential to be used as an indicator for the localization of subsurface NAPL contamination. As possible options for survey equipment, the AlphaGUARD radon monitor and passive solid-state nuclear track detectors were successfully evaluated.     

Stable isotope fractionation related to technically enhanced bacterial sulphate degradation in lignite mining sediments

A mine dump aquifer in the Lusatian lignite mining district, Germany, is contaminated with acid mine drainage (AMD). The only natural process that can counteract the effects of the contamination is bacterial sulphate reduction. The technical measures chosen to handle the contamination include the injection of glycerol into the aquifer to supply electron donors and to accelerate the growth and activity of sulphate-reducing bacteria. An initial assessment of the hydrochemical conditions in the aquifer showed that sulphate concentrations are subject to alteration due to flow-related processes. Consequently, the decision whether sulphate reduction is occurring in the investigated aquifer section was based on the stable isotopic composition of dissolved sulphate and sulphide, which were used in combination with sulphate concentrations. The significant enrichment of both heavy sulphur and heavy oxygen in the remaining sulphate pool and a characteristic isotope fractionation pattern are a clear evidence for the activity of sulphate-reducing bacteria utilising the injected glycerol as an electron donor. This activity seemed to intensify over the observation period. The spatial distribution of sulphate reduction activity, however, appeared to be highly inhomogeneous. Rather than occurring ubiquitously, sulphate reduction activity seemed to concentrate in a defined reaction zone. Regardless of the inhomogeneous distribution, the overall turnover of sulphate during the period of investigation proves the applicability of this enhanced natural attenuation method to handle the restoration of aquifers contaminated with AMD.     

Insights from stable isotopes of water and hydrochemistry to the evolutionary processes of groundwater in the Subei lake basin,Ordos energy base,Northwestern China

ABSTRACT

Changes in groundwater evolutionary processes due to aquifer overexploitation show a world-wide increase and have been of growing concern in recent years. The study aimed to improve the knowledge of groundwater evolutionary processes by means of stable water isotopes and hydrochemistry in a representative lake basin, Ordos energy base. Groundwater, precipitation, and lake water collected during four campaigns were analysed by stable isotopes and chemical compositions. Results showed that temperature effect predominated the isotope fractionation in precipitation, while evaporation and inadequate groundwater recharge were the key factors explaining high salinity and isotopic enrichment in lake water. Additionally, the Kuisheng Lake was a preferential area of groundwater recharge, while the Subei Lake received less sources from underlying aquifer due to the combined effects of low permeable zone and upstream groundwater captured by the production wells. The homogeneous isotope signatures of groundwater may be ascribed to the closely vertical hydraulic connectivity between the unconfined and the confined aquifers. Isotopically enriched groundwater pumping from well field probably promoted isotopic depletion in groundwater depression cone. These findings not only provide the conceptual framework for the inland basin, but also have important implications for sustainable groundwater management in other groundwater discharge basins with arid climate.     

Changes in hydrogen isotope ratios in sequential plumage stages: an implication for the creation of isotope-base maps for tracking migratory birds

Accurate reference maps are important in the use of stable-isotopes to track the movements of migratory birds. Reference maps created by the analysis of samples collected from young at the nest site are more accurate than simply referring to naturally occurring patterns of hydrogen isotope ratios created by precipitation cycles. Ratios of hydrogen isotopes in the nutrients incorporated early in the development of young birds can be derived from endogenous, maternal sources. Base-maps should be created with the analysis of tissue samples from hatchlings after local the isotopic signature of exogenous nutrients is dominant. Migratory species such as Peregrine Falcons are known to use endogenous sources in the creation of their eggs, therefore knowledge of what plumage stage best represents the local hydrogen ratios would assist in the planning of nest visits. We conducted diet manipulation experiments involving Japanese Quail and Peregrine Falcons to determine the plumage stage when hydrogen isotope ratios were indicative of a switch in their food source. The natal down of both the quail and falcons reflected the diet of breeding adult females. The hydrogen isotope ratios of a new food source were dominant in the juvenile down of the young falcons, although a further shift was detected in the final juvenile plumage. The juvenile plumage is grown during weeks 3-4 after hatch on Peregrine Falcons. Nest visits for the purpose of collecting feathers for isotope-base-map creation should be made around 4 weeks after the presumed hatch of the young falcons.     

Emanations and “induced” radioactivity: From mystery to (mis)use

Radon, Rn; atomic number Z=85; is a (gaseous) chemical element of which no stable but only radioactive isotopes exist. Three of them, namely actinon (²¹⁹Rn), thoron (²²⁰Rn) and radon (²²²Rn) are the decay products of naturally occurring radioisotopes of radium:²²³Ra,²²⁴Ra and²²⁶Ra, respectively. The natural Rn isotopes were discovered within the period 1899–1902 and at that time referred to as emanations because they came out (emanated) of sources/materials containing actinium, thorium and radium, respectively. The (somewhat mysterious) emanations appeared to disintegrate into radioactive decay products which by depositing at solid surfaces gave rise to “induced” radioactivity i.e. radioactive substances with various half-lives. Following the discovery of the emanations the volume of the research involving them and their disintegration products grew steeply. The identity of a number of these radioactive products was soon established. Radium- emanation was soon used as a source of RaD (²¹⁰Pb) to be applied as an “indicator” (radiotracer) for lead in a study on the solubility of lead sulphide and lead chromate. Moreover, radium and its emanation were introduced into the medical practice. Inhaling radon and drinking radon-containing water became an accepted medicinal use (or misuse?) of that gas. Shortly after the turn of the century, the healing (?) action of natural springs (spas) was attributed to their radium emanation i.e. radon. Bathing in radioactive spring water and drinking it became very popular. Even today, bathing in radon-containing water is still a common medical treatment in Jáchymov, Czech Republic.     

Feeding level and diet quality influence trophic shift of C and N isotopes in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus (L.))

Many scientists use naturally occurring stable isotopes to reconstruct the diets of animals. However, isotopic ratios may be affected not only by the composition of the diet but also by the amount of food consumed. Thus, an experiment using tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was carried out to test the influence of feeding level on delta13C and delta15N of fish given a semi-synthetic wheat gluten/wheat starch based diet. In addition, the effect of diet quality was tested by comparing tilapia given this feed with tilapia fed a fish meal/wheat meal based diet. Forty-four tilapia were reared individually. After a prefeeding phase, fish were randomly assigned to five groups, four on the semi-synthetic diet at different feeding levels and one group on the fish meal/wheat meal based diet fed at the equivalent of the highest level of the semi-synthetic diet. The experiment lasted eight weeks. Proximate composition, gross energy content and delta13C and delta15N values were determined in feed and fish, for delta13C separately in the lipids and the lipid-free matter. Delta13C in the lipids and the lipid-free matter and delta15N of tilapia fed the semi-synthetic diet decreased significantly with increasing feeding rate. The absolute values of the trophic shift in fish fed the semi-synthetic wheat based diet were significantly higher than in fish fed the fish meal/wheat meal based diet. The different delta13C and delta15N values in tilapia fed the same diet at different feeding levels and the influence of feed quality on the trophic shift add to the uncertainty involved in the use of stable isotopes in ecological research.     

Odd-isotope enrichment studies of Gd by double resonance laser-ionization for the production of burnable nuclear reactor poison

 Because of its large neutron capture cross-section, gadolinium (Gd) is widely used as burnable poison in nuclear reactors. Only two of its naturally occurring seven isotopes are strong neutron absorbers; hence, it would be desirable to enrich Gd in those isotopes. We demonstrate experimentally that significant enrichment can be achieved by two-step laser-ionization by relatively broad-band (bandwidth 1–2 GHz) lasers and by utilizing the isotope shifts only. Our results indicate that the content of the strong absorbers can be raised from the natural 30% to nearly 70%. We also compare the performance of this partially enriched Gd to natural Gd and to pure ¹⁵⁷Gd, the most strongly absorbing isotope, as burnable poison. Received: 3 April 1996/Revised version: 14 October 1996     

Tannic acid assisted one step synthesis route for stable colloidal dispersion of nickel nanostructures

We report here a one step synthesis route for highly stable colloidal dispersion of nickel (Ni) nanostructures in ethylene glycol (EG). tannic acid (TA), a naturally occurring molecule was used as reducing as well as capping agent. Different instrumental techniques were used to characterize the end product. It has been found that the particles are pure crystalline nickel with a face-centred-cubic (fcc) structure which are uniformly distributed throughout the surface of Ni-TA complex hybrid nanostructures resulting flower-like morphology. The synthesized nanoparticles are remarkably stable for several months. It is supposed that the TA-capped Ni nanoparticles with significantly increased stability and dispersibility could be used as a novel nanoscale material in various technological applications.     

Metal Isotope Natural Abundance in Infrared Spectroscopy

Band splitting can be observed in the infrared spectra of metal complexes arising from the naturally occurring mixture of isotopes, and the use of these splittings in assigning metal-ligand vibrational modes is described.     

Stable isotope deltas: tiny, yet robust signatures in nature

Although most of them are relatively small, stable isotope deltas of naturally occurring substances are robust and enable workers in anthropology, atmospheric sciences, biology, chemistry, environmental sciences, food and drug authentication, forensic science, geochemistry, geology, oceanography, and paleoclimatology to study a variety of topics. Two fundamental processes explain the stable isotope deltas measured in most terrestrial systems: isotopic fractionation and isotope mixing. Isotopic fractionation is the result of equilibrium or kinetic physicochemical processes that fractionate isotopes because of small differences in physical or chemical properties of molecular species having different isotopes. It is shown that the mixing of radioactive and stable isotope end members can be modelled to provide information on many natural processes, including (14)C abundances in the modern atmosphere and the stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopic compositions of the oceans during glacial and interglacial times. The calculation of mixing fractions using isotope balance equations with isotope deltas can be substantially in error when substances with high concentrations of heavy isotopes (e.g. (13)C, (2)H, and (18)O ) are mixed. In such cases, calculations using mole fractions are preferred as they produce accurate mixing fractions. Isotope deltas are dimensionless quantities. In the International System of Units (SI), these quantities have the unit 1 and the usual list of prefixes is not applicable. To overcome traditional limitations with expressing orders of magnitude differences in isotope deltas, we propose the term urey (symbol Ur), after Harold C. Urey, for the unit 1. In such a manner, an isotope delta value expressed traditionally as-25 per mil can be written as-25?mUr (or-2.5?cUr or-0.25?dUr; the use of any SI prefix is possible). Likewise, very small isotopic differences often expressed in per meg 'units' are easily included (e.g. either+0.015?‰ or+15 per meg can be written as+15?μUr.     

The influence of isotopomers on calculated thermodynamics quantities

The effects of using the naturally occurring mixture of isotopomers for calculating thermo-dynamic contributions, rather than using only the compound with the most common isotopes, is examined. The effects are small, even for challenging systems like polyhalogenated compounds. For the most common isotopes the approximation of using only a single isotopomer introduces errors approximately two orders of magnitude less than the neglect of anharmonicity in vibrational frequencies for typical systems.     

Chromium isotopes tracking the resurgence of hexavalent chromium contamination in a past-contaminated area in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region,northern Italy

The origin of a resurgent hexavalent chromium contamination in groundwater from a phreatic aquifer in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region plain was investigated by chromium isotopic systematics. The area underwent a severe Cr(VI) contamination by industrial effluents in 1997, when Cr(VI) concentration in groundwater reached 4500?µg/L. In subsequent years the contamination naturally attenuated, totally disappearing in 2003. A renewal of water contamination was observed in 2008, Cr(VI) reaching 1560?µg/L. The δ⁵³Cr value in groundwater and extracts from sediments was measured in 2009–2011, and it ranges between ?3.21 and +0.21‰ and between ?4.71 and +1.26‰, respectively. Due to the lack of geogenic Cr-sources, these data are interpreted as evidence of the subsequent oxidation through Mn-oxides of the Cr(III) hosted in the aquifer and originated by the reduction of the original industrial chromates. Cr(III) is characterized by negative δ⁵³Cr, starting from the δ⁵³Cr value around zero of Cr(VI) in industrial effluents. Oxidation liberates soluble Cr(VI) which is transported by groundwater and permeated soils. The complex Cr-isotopic vs. concentration distribution reflects both the new Cr(VI) reduction and dilution processes in the aquifer system. From an environmental point of view, the data raise concerns regarding the potential impact of past Cr(VI)-contamination.     

In-source spectroscopy on astatine and radium for resonant laser ionization

At on-line isotope separator facilities, rare isotopes of radioactive elements such as astatine, radium or polonium are demanded for fundamental research on nuclear structure. These elements are generally suitable for a resonance ionization laser ion source, but more data on the atomic structure is necessary to develop efficient laser ionization schemes. Due to the missing stable reference isotopes spectroscopic investigation of the atomic structure can only be performed during on-line operation. At the Isotope Separator and ACcelerator (ISAC) facility at TRIUMF, the elements astatine and radium were investigated by in-source laser spectroscopy to optimize the laser ionization efficiency. For astatine, laser spectroscopy was performed to search for high lying bound states as well as for auto-ionizing resonances. This led to the identification of four new high lying bound states of odd parity, while no auto-ionizing resonances were observed in the investigated region. Furthermore, the feasibility and the impact of laser ionization on the yield of radium isotopes was investigated using an activated target after proton irradiation.     

Seawater intrusion into groundwater aquifer through a coastal lake - complex interaction characterised by water isotopes 2H and 18O

The present study investigates the complex interactions among surface waters, groundwaters and a coastal lake in northeastern Greece, using their stable isotopic composition (δ¹⁸O, δ²H) in combination with hydrogeological and hydrochemical data. Seasonal and spatial trends of water isotopes were studied and revealed that all water bodies in the study area interact. It was also shown that the aquifer's increased salinity is not due to fossil water from past geological periods, but is attributed to brackish lake water intrusion into the aquifer induced by the extensive groundwater pumping for irrigation purposes. Quantification of the contribution of the lake to the aquifer was achieved using the simple dilution formula. The isotopic signatures of the seawater and the groundwaters are considerably different, so there is a very little possibility of direct seawater intrusion into the aquifer.     

Target-ion source unit ionization efficiency measurement by a method of stable ion beam implantation

At the IRIS facility a rather precise method of the target-ion source unit ionization efficiency measurement has been developed. The method exploits an off-line mass-separator for the implantation of the ion beams of selected stable isotopes into a tantalum foil placed inside a Faraday cup in the focal plane of the mass-separator. After the implantation of the required amount of the investigated species, tantalum foil has been inserted into the volume of the target-ion source unit prepared for the on-line utilization at the IRIS on-line separator. The first tests have ensured the ionization efficiency values (90±10)% for Rb and (85±10)% for Cs in the empty combined target-ion source unit, which was used as a reference one. For the target-ion source unit with UC target material inside the measured value of the ionization efficiency of Rb was (52±20)%.     

Isotopes to assess sustainability of overexploited groundwater in the Souss–Massa system (Morocco)

Groundwater depletion and changes in isotopic and chemical contents constitute the main indicators of overexploitation, recharge, and flow paths in the Souss–Massa aquifer. These indicators highlight processes concerning sustainability of water resources in the aquifer (e.g. surface/groundwater interaction, recharge processes, and marine intrusion). The spatial variation of stable and radioactive isotopic contents indicates a mixing of modern and old water within the system. Recent recharge was observed mainly along the Souss River (the major surface-water drainage in the study area) and in the irrigated areas. Mapping of chemical and isotopic variation shows that the area is affected by abstraction, irrigation water return, and the evolution of modern recharge in time and space. The processes, distribution, and timing of groundwater flow are influenced by short- and long-term effects; long-term recharge is dependent on climatic conditions. This study can be used to make informed decisions about water-resource allocation and alternative management practices.     

Use of Isotope Analysis in Solving Environmental Problems in Power Engineering

Abstract

During hydraulic dumping of ashes at a sludge bed of the power plant at Mělnik (north of Prague), new springs originated which wetted houses and properties at the small village of Podvlci. The sludge bed as well as the village lie at the southwestern margin of the alluvial plain of the Labe (Elbe) River at the foot of a slope built of Cretaceous sedimentary rocks. By analyzing the concentrations of radiocarbon and tritium, it was possible to determine the origin of the water and the ratio of the modern and original groundwater in the new springs in the surroundings of the sludge bed. To substitute the present dump the operation of which should be stopped, establishing of a new one has been proposed within the alluvial plain. By means of stable isotopes and radionuclides, the relations between the groundwater in the Quaternary sediments and in the underlying Middle Turonian confined aquifer were studied, because changes in the hydrogeological regime have to be expected due to the operation of the proposed new sludge bed.     

Chemical and carbon isotopic composition of dissolved organic carbon in a regional confined methanogenic aquifer

This study demonstrates the advantage of a combined use of chemical and isotopic tools to understand the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) cycle in a regional confined methanogenic aquifer. DOC concentration and carbon isotopic data demonstrate that the soil zone is a primary carbon source of groundwater DOC in areas close to recharge zones. An in-situ DOC source linked to organic rich sediments present in the aquifer matrix is controlling the DOC pool in the central part of the groundwater flow system. DOC fractions, 13C-NMR on fulvic acids and 14C data on DOC and CH4 support the hypothesis that the in-situ DOC source is a terrestrial organic matter and discard the Ordovician bedrock as a source of DOC.     

Assessing auditory distance perception using virtual acoustics

In most naturally occurring situations, multiple acoustic properties of the sound reaching a listener's ears change as sound source distance changes. Because many of these acoustic properties, or cues, can be confounded with variation in the acoustic properties of the source and the environment, the perceptual processes subserving distance localization likely combine and weight multiple cues in order to produce stable estimates of sound source distance. Here, this cue-weighting process is examined psychophysically, using a method of virtual acoustics that allows precise measurement and control of the acoustic cues thought to be salient for distance perception in a representative large-room environment. Though listeners' judgments of sound source distance are found to consistently and exponentially underestimate true distance, the perceptual weight assigned to two primary distance cues (intensity and direct-to-reverberant energy ratio) varies substantially as a function of both sound source type (noise and speech) and angular position (0 degrees and 90 degrees relative to the median plane). These results suggest that the cue-weighting process is flexible, and able to adapt to individual distance cues that vary as a result of source properties and environmental conditions.