Annual variability of the long-lived anthropogenic radionuclides 129I and 236U in the Fram Strait and their use as water mass composition tracers ...
Anthropogenic chemical tracers are powerful tools to study pathways, water mass provenance and mixing processes in the ocean. Releases of the long-lived anthropogenic radionuclides 129I and 236U from European nuclear reprocessing plants label Atlantic Water entering the Arctic Ocean with a distinct...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
ETH Zurich
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000528054 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/528054 |
| Summary: | Anthropogenic chemical tracers are powerful tools to study pathways, water mass provenance and mixing processes in the ocean. Releases of the long-lived anthropogenic radionuclides 129I and 236U from European nuclear reprocessing plants label Atlantic Water entering the Arctic Ocean with a distinct signal that can be used to track pathways and timescales of Atlantic Water circulation in the Arctic Ocean and Fram Strait. Apart from their application as transient tracers, the difference in anthropogenic radionuclide concentrations between Atlantic- and Pacific-origin water provides an instrument to distinguish the interface between both water masses. In contrast to classically used water mass tracers such as nitrate-phosphate (N:P) ratios, the two radionuclides are considered to behave conservatively in seawater and are not affected by biogeochemical processes occurring in particular in the broad shelf regions of the Arctic Ocean. Here we present a time-series of 129I and 236U data across the Fram Strait, ... : EGUsphere ... |
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