The oceanic sediment barrier
Burial within the sediments of the deep ocean floor is one of the options that have been proposed for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. An international research programme is in progress to determine whether oceanic sediments have the requisite properties for this purpose. After summariz...
Published in: | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
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The Royal Society
1986
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.1986.0090 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.1986.0090 |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsta.1986.0090 2024-06-02T08:11:56+00:00 The oceanic sediment barrier 1986 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.1986.0090 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.1986.0090 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences volume 319, issue 1545, page 115-137 ISSN 0080-4614 2054-0272 journal-article 1986 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.1986.0090 2024-05-07T14:16:04Z Burial within the sediments of the deep ocean floor is one of the options that have been proposed for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. An international research programme is in progress to determine whether oceanic sediments have the requisite properties for this purpose. After summarizing the salient features of this programme, the paper focuses on the Great Meteor East study area in the Northeast Atlantic, where most oceanographic effort has been concentrated. The geological, geochemical and geotechnical properties of the sediments in the area are discussed. Measurements designed to determine the rate of pore water movement through the sediment column are described. Our understanding of the chemistry of both the solid and pore-water phases of the sediment are outlined, emphasizing the control that redox conditions have on the mobility of, for example, naturally occurring manganese and uranium. The burial of instrumented free-fall penetrators to depths of 30 m beneath the ocean floor is described, modelling one of the methods by which waste might be emplaced. Finally, the nature of this oceanic environment is compared with geological environments on land and attention is drawn to the gaps in our knowledge that must be filled before oceanic burial can be regarded as an acceptable disposal option. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northeast Atlantic The Royal Society Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences 319 1545 115 137 |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Burial within the sediments of the deep ocean floor is one of the options that have been proposed for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. An international research programme is in progress to determine whether oceanic sediments have the requisite properties for this purpose. After summarizing the salient features of this programme, the paper focuses on the Great Meteor East study area in the Northeast Atlantic, where most oceanographic effort has been concentrated. The geological, geochemical and geotechnical properties of the sediments in the area are discussed. Measurements designed to determine the rate of pore water movement through the sediment column are described. Our understanding of the chemistry of both the solid and pore-water phases of the sediment are outlined, emphasizing the control that redox conditions have on the mobility of, for example, naturally occurring manganese and uranium. The burial of instrumented free-fall penetrators to depths of 30 m beneath the ocean floor is described, modelling one of the methods by which waste might be emplaced. Finally, the nature of this oceanic environment is compared with geological environments on land and attention is drawn to the gaps in our knowledge that must be filled before oceanic burial can be regarded as an acceptable disposal option. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
title |
The oceanic sediment barrier |
spellingShingle |
The oceanic sediment barrier |
title_short |
The oceanic sediment barrier |
title_full |
The oceanic sediment barrier |
title_fullStr |
The oceanic sediment barrier |
title_full_unstemmed |
The oceanic sediment barrier |
title_sort |
oceanic sediment barrier |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
1986 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.1986.0090 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.1986.0090 |
genre |
Northeast Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Northeast Atlantic |
op_source |
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences volume 319, issue 1545, page 115-137 ISSN 0080-4614 2054-0272 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.1986.0090 |
container_title |
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
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319 |
container_issue |
1545 |
container_start_page |
115 |
op_container_end_page |
137 |
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1800758240248594432 |