Effect of salinity on the concentrations of radioisotopes in the aquatic environment of a hypersaline coastal lagoon |
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| Authors: | Khaled A. Ramadan Mostafa K. Seddeek Taher Sharshar Tarek Elnimr |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt;2. Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Gaza, Palestine;3. Physics Department, Faculty of Education, Suez Canal University, Al-Arish, Egypt;4. Physics Department, Oklat Al-Skoor College of Science &5. Arts, Qassim University, Qassim, Saudi Arabia;6. Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt;7. Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Taif University, Al-Hawiya, Taif, Saudi Arabia |
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| Abstract: | Research of the effect of salinity on the fate of radionuclides has been focused on seas or estuarine systems while there is almost no information on marine environments with a salinity higher than that of sea water. The hypersaline Bardawil lagoon is a concentration basin, with evaporation exceeding precipitation. This study presents the characteristics of some environmental factors including salinity and their influence on the distribution of natural and artificial radionuclides in different compartments of the lagoon. The concentrations of 238U, 234Th, 228Ra and 137Cs in sediments show some degree of dependency on the water's salinity. Migration of these radionuclides in the lagoon's sediments must take place from high salinity to low-salinity regions. Cluster analysis revealed the data structure for sediment by separating 137Cs and 40K from 232Th, 226Ra, and 234Th and for sand by separating 40K from the other radioisotopes. |
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| Keywords: | Bardawil caesium-137 Egypt hypersaline lagoon natural radioactivity NORM potassium-40 radioactive nuclides radium-226 salinity thorium-232 thorium-234 uranium-238 |
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