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1.
Strong isotopic fractionation between234U and238U has been noted in deep oil-well brines. The waters are stratigraphically and structurally isolated from fresh-water inflow and have remained stagnant for more than five half-lifes of234U. Excess234U is explained by the234Th alpha-recoil nucleus event.  相似文献   

2.
In Funka Bay of Hokkaido, Japan, seawater, suspended matter and settling matter were collected once every month in the summer of 1974. These samples were analyzed for234Th, a short-lived daughter of dissolved238U. A pronounced disequilibrium between234Th and238U, and a highly variable concentration of234Th were found. Positive correlation, however, exist among the deficiency of234Th relative to238U in seawater, the concentration of particulate234Th, the fraction of particulate234Th to total234Th in seawater, the total dry weight of suspended matter, and the primary productivity during the month previous to sampling. The specific activity of234Th for the settling particles (620 ± 170 dpm/g) was nearly equal to that for suspended particles (720 ± 600 dpm/g) but much greater than that for plankton (47 ± 24 dpm/g). These facts suggest that suspended particles are somehow closely related to the removal of heavy metals from seawater, in spite of the negligibly small settling flux of suspended matter. The residence time of thorium in Funka Bay (mean depth: 60 m) is found to be about 60 days, which is nearly equal to those of210Pb and210Po.  相似文献   

3.
The234Th/238U activity ratios in the near-bottom waters at a station in the South Pacific have been measured. The activity ratios are close to the secular equilibrium value, ranging between 0.9 and 1.13 (± 8%), suggesting that the rate of removal of234Th by bottom-water scavenging processes at this station is slow compared to its rate of radioactive decay. The mean234U/238U activity ratios in these waters is 1.14 ± 0.02, the same as the reported values for the world oceans.  相似文献   

4.
Measurement of excess 234Th (t1/2 = 24.1 days) in surface sediment from 12 stations throughout Long Island Sound, U.S.A., demonstrates: (1) a mean (summer) sediment inventory of 3.6 dpm/cm2 consistent with complete, nearly instantaneous removal of 234Th from the overlying water and capture within the estuary, and (2) preferential association of excess 234Th with small particles and inventory build-ups in muddy bottom areas. There may also be a tendency for higher inventories in areas of high physical or biogenic reworking of surface sediments. A range of particle reworking rates (0–5 cm) from <0.01 × 10?6 to 1.6 × 10?6 cm2/s is found in the Sound with most values ~0.2?0.5 × 10?6 cm2/s. The inventory and reworking patterns demonstrate the high mobility, both horizontal and vertical, of particles in the estuary on 234Th decay time scales and are unequivocal evidence for control of reactive element distribution in the water column by the muddy regions of the basin.  相似文献   

5.
The mean residence time (τ) of thorium with respect to non-radioactive removal from water was determined as a function of location in three traverses of the New York Bight using both234Th/238U and228Th/228Ra. τ correlates well with salinity increasing from about ten days near shore to 70 days at the shelf break. It shows a much weaker correlation with suspended matter concentrations both because suspended matter varies in its scavenging efficiency and because salinity is a longer-term integrator of scavenging potential.τ's computed from228Th/228Ra were often higher than those computed from234Th/238U either because of the detrital matter present as reflected in the232Th concentrations or because the water parcels had recently arrived from environments of lower scavenging efficiency.Anomalous isotopic concentrations found in three adjacent samples can best be explained as the result of an episodic release of228Ra from bottom sediments at a rate 200 times the normal one.  相似文献   

6.
The234U and238U concentration in brine from six Gulf Coast geopressured aquifers has been determined. The results reveal very low uranium concentrations (from 0.003 to 0.03 μg/l) and uranium activity ratios slightly greater than unity (from 1.06 to 1.62). Reducing conditions within the aquifers are responsible for the low uranium concentrations. The uranium activity ratios observed are well below those calculated using theoretical considerations of alpha-particle recoil effects. This can be explained by interference with alpha-recoil nuclides entering the liquid phase as a result of quartz overgrowths on sand grains and high-temperature re-equilibration that tends to minimize the effects of the alpha-recoil process.The fact that the uranium activity ratios of the brines are slightly greater than unity instead of the equilibrium value of 1.000 indicates that either the alpha particle recoil blocking and re-equlibration effects are not complete or that another process is operative that enriches the fluid in excess234U by selectively removing uranium from radiation induced damage sites in the mineral (sand grain) matrix.  相似文献   

7.
Measurements of uranium concentration and the234U/238U activity ratio in oceanic basalts which have undergone low-temperature seafloor alteration indicate that uranium uptake is a pervasive occurrence but that the various phases involved behave differently with respect to this process. Palagonite exhibits uranium contents 8–20 times higher than unaltered glass coupled with low234U/238U, suggesting ongoing preferential leaching of234U. Altered crystalline interiors of several old basalts have234U/238U > 1, indicative of recent uranium exchange with seawater. The data also provide evidence for uranium sources with234U/238U higher than the seawater value of 1.14. Manganese crusts on basalts of a variety of ages have isotopic ratios indicating that they either are recent deposits or also have experienced continuing uranium exchange with seawater.  相似文献   

8.
Correct and precise age determination of prehistorical catastrophic rock‐slope failures prerequisites any hypotheses relating this type of mass wasting to past climatic regimes or palaeo‐seismic records. Despite good exposure, easy accessibility and a long tradition of absolute dating, the age of the 230 million m3 carbonate‐lithic Tschirgant rock avalanche event of the Eastern Alps (Austria) still is relatively poorly constrained. We herein review the age of mass‐wasting based on a total of 17 absolute ages produced with three different methods (14C, 36Cl, 234U/230Th). Chlorine‐36 (36Cl) cosmogenic surface exposure dating of five boulders of the rock avalanche deposit indicates a mean event age of 3.06 ± 0.62 ka. Uranium‐234/thorium‐230 (234U/230Th) dating of soda‐straw stalactites formed in microcaves beneath boulders indicate mean precipitation ages of three individual soda straws at 3.20 ± 0.26 ka, 3.04 ± 0.10 ka and 2.81 ± 0.15 ka; notwithstanding potential internal errors, these ages provide an ‘older‐than’ (ante quam) proxy for mass‐wasting. Based on radiocarbon ages (nine sites) only, it was previously suggested that the present rock avalanche deposit represents two successive failures (3.75 ± 0.19 ka bp , 3.15 ± 0.19 ka bp ). There is, however, no evidence for two events neither in surface outcrops nor in LiDAR derived imagery and drill logs. The temporal distribution of all absolute ages (14C, 36Cl, 234U/230Th) also does not necessarily indicate two successive events but suggest that a single catastrophic mass‐wasting took place between 3.4 and 2.4 ka bp . Taking into account the maximum age boundary given by reinterpreted radiocarbon datings and the minimum U/Th‐ages of calcite precipitations within the rock avalanche deposits, a most probable event age of 3.01 ± 0.10 ka bp can be proposed. Our results underscore the difficulty to accurately date catastrophic rock slope failures, but also the potential to increase the accuracy of age determination by combining methods. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

9.
A new theory is described for the uptake of U in an open system applied to the dating of archaeological bones. Analytical solutions are obtained for the rate of radioactive decay of 238U, 234U and 230Th as a function of position for the case where both 238U and 234U diffuse across a bone, and where external supply of 234U is not in equilibrium with 238U. The new theory constitutes a forward model for predicting 238U, 234U and 230Th activity profiles across a bone given an age and diffusion coefficient. The forward model can be used in an inversion process whereby observations of activity profiles of 238U, 234U and 230Th as a function of position are used to infer the bone age of a sample together with robust measures of uncertainty. Differences from previous studies are that no closed system assumptions are required and no apparent age calculations necessary, while diffusion of 234U across the bone is accounted for in the inversion process. The procedure also does not require U-concentration profiles for the calculation of model parameters. The measurement of U-concentration profiles are, however, useful for the assessment of the reliability of the calculated results. Because of the assumption of constant 234U/238U ratios at the boundaries of the bone, DAD age results are generally older than closed system U-series results derived from the same isotopic data. Allowance is made for both correlated and uncorrelated errors in activity measurements as well as theoretical error caused by inhomogeneities in the sample. The implementation of the new approach (which we term the DAD model for Diffusion–Adsorption–Decay) is straightforward and efficient enough to allow estimation of age and its uncertainty on a desktop computer. Software for performing age estimation with the new model is available from the corresponding author.  相似文献   

10.
Uranium contents and234U/238U activity ratios have been determined for groundwaters from the Lincolnshire Limestone artesian aquifer in eastern England. Changes in the quantitative and isotopic chemistry of the dissolved uranium are explained in terms of a mixing model involving the rapidly moving fissure water and much older water stored in the pore system of this oolitic limestone. The western part of the aquifer, closest to recharge, is dominated by oxidising groundwaters which then enter a reducing zone towards the east, where there is an abrupt decrease in Eh and the chlorinity of the groundwaters begins to increase. Uranium contents in the oxidising zone range from 0.7 to 3.4 μg kg?1 and234U/238U activity ratio of this dissolved uranium is close to unity, the equilibrium value. The uranium content decreases abruptly when the grounwaaters enter the reducing zone, averaging 0.04 μg kg?1 east of the oxidation/reduction barrier. Simultaneously with the decrease in uranium content, there is an increase in234U/238U activity ratio and this ratio increases to a maximum within 7 km of the oxidation/reduction barrier. This increase in activity ratio is attributed to enhanced234U solution due to234Th recoil from uraniferous fissure surfaces east of the oxidising zone. The activity ratio of dissolved uranium in the ancient pore waters could in principle reach high values due to234Th recoil from the oolith surfaces. However, the activity ratio actually declines further east and this can only be explained as a consequence of mixing with pore waters in which the uranium activity ratio is closer to equilibrium.234Th recoil from the oolith surfaces has probably been inhibited by sealing of the uranium-bearing surfaces in the process of oolith cementation.  相似文献   

11.
A young (<1 m.y.) tholeiitic basalt dredged from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge displays a234U excess and a230Th deficiency that have resulted from the addition of seawater uranium during weathering at seafloor temperatures. Two older samples, though they acquired substantial amounts of uranium from seawater, are depleted in234U, indicating preferential leaching of this isotope. Hydrothermally altered samples suggest that some uranium loss may have occurred. Possible isotopic effects of preferential234U leaching, however, are obscured by secondary addition of seawater uranium at lower temperatures.  相似文献   

12.
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14.
A block of sulfide crust collected from an active hydrothermal mound in an Archaean site (12°56.4′N, 143°37.9′E; depth ca. 3000 m) of the South Mariana Trough was dated using both 230Th/234U disequilibrium and electron spin resonance (ESR) methods to establish the growth duration. Eight subsamples from the sulfide crust were separated further into magnetic and non-magnetic fractions using a Franz isodynamic separator. Thirteen sulfide samples, soluble in nitric acid, yielded 230Th/234U ages of 0.3–2.2 ka. The magnetic fractions had significantly lower Th/U ratios, which enabled age determinations as precise as ±2% (2σ). The age distribution obtained for the section of sulfide crust analyzed is consistent with deposition of sulfide minerals from the upper surface of the crust to the inner side. The 230Th/234U ages of the sulfide minerals were compared with ESR ages of barites separated from 12 subsamples of the same sulfide crust. ESR ages of 0.27–1.3 ka show a spatial pattern broadly resembling that observed in 230Th/234U dating method. While there are some significant offsets, these results illustrate the potential of the two methods for use in investigation of the evolutional history of a hydrothermal system.  相似文献   

15.
Because of high specific activities of excess234Th (t1/2 = 24.1 days) on suspended particles in the deep sea, this nuclide is potentially an extremely sensitive indicator of particle inputs and dynamics at the seafloor. Measurements were made at two deep-sea sites in order to examine this potential. Inventories of excess234Th at a low-current hemipelagic mud site (3990 m) in the Panama Basin were~ 1.5 (September, ′81) and~ 2.5 (June, ′82) dpm/cm2. The steady state fluxes to the seafloor calculated from these inventories are in rough agreement with radionuclide fluxes measured in sediment traps. Small-scale (~ 100m) spatial variability in inventories implies biologically significant heterogeneity in particle inputs. Sediment from the continental rise site in the northwest Atlantic (2800 m), a site with higher current velocities than the Panama Basin, had an inventory of~ 1.9dpm/cm2. This inventory is also in rough agreement with predictions made on the basis of nearby sediment trap data. Particle mixing coefficients of~ 30cm2/yr calculated at the Pacific and Atlantic sites are similar to those in shallow water deposits but could reflect disturbance during handling. Based on210Pb data from the Panama Basin, sediment from below~ 6cm is mixed at a rate~ 10 × slower than the near-surface sediment to a depth of at least 20 cm. Agreement between234Th predicted mixing rates at the Panama Basin site with210Pb profiles and in-situ experiments with glass bead tracers implies that these rates are real. Although the diffusion of dissolved234Th into deep-sea sediments complicates interpretations,234Thxs distributions in bottom sediments offer a useful adjunct to sediment traps for investigation of particle dynamics near the deep-sea floor.  相似文献   

16.
An iron-rich deposit dredged from the upper flank of Dellwood Seamount in the Northeast Pacific has been analyzed for major and trace elements, rare-earth contents and uranium isotopic composition. In terms of mineralogy and overall chemical composition, the deposit resembles other iron-rich deposits variously attributed to volcanic hydrothermal activity. Both the relative concentrations of the rare-earth elements and the isotopic composition of uranium rule out seawater as the sole source of elements in this deposit. The rare-earth element pattern indicates that these elements were derived from the underlying basalt. The234U/238U ratio is significantly higher than in seawater and can best be explained by preferential leaching of234U generated by decay from its parent238U in the underlying rock and subsequent redeposition of the excess234U together with the Fe and minor metals. These data are consistent with a model for the origin of submarine metal-rich solutions involving mobilization of elements from the interior of slowly cooling basalts by circulating seawater.  相似文献   

17.
Calcitic crusts of calcareous red algae could be suitable material for age determination of raised marine deposits and palaeothermometry at annual to sub-annual resolution. We examined the potential of U–Th dating of cold-water calcareous algae by analysing fossil specimens (n=10) from Kapp Ekholm (Svalbard) and recent specimens from Norway (n=3) and Scotland (n=1). After initial measurements using α-spectrometry, thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS) was used to study the material in more detail. Recent specimens contain 0.19–1.55 μg g−1 U, and the measured (234U/238U) activity ratios vary between 1.12 and 1.30. Fossil specimens contain 1–168 μg g−1 U, and display variable and highly elevated initial (234U/238U) activity ratios. In general, the TIMS results show increasing (234U/238U) activity ratios and concentrations of U and Th with increasing stratigraphic age. From this it is evident that marine calcareous red algae contain U in-vivo and they experience substantial post-mortem uptake of U. We conclude that direct U–Th dating of fossil calcareous algae from raised marine deposits is not viable without further geochemical understanding of the in-vivo uptake and post-depositional pathways of U and Th in such deposits. Despite the convincing open-system behaviour of the material, comparison with previously published chronostratigraphy from the site shows that the calcareous algae generally yield ages that are too old. This is in contrast to the expected result based on simple continuous post-mortem U accumulation and calls for a complex model comprising migration of U and multi-component addition of Th (detrital/colloidal) to explain the observed trends.  相似文献   

18.
Measurements of231Pa/235U and230Th/234U activity ratios have been made for a suite of Quaternary age phosphate nodules from the upwelling zone off Peru and Chile. Many of these samples contain more231Pa than would be predicted based on closed-system230Th/234U ages unlike samples from non-upwelling environments which have been shown to have concordant231Pa and230Th ages. Peru/Chile phosphate nodules apparently pick up231Pa preferentially to230Th. This is most likely a result of prior fractionation of protactinium and thorium in the open ocean. Highly productive coastal upwelling zones may be added to the growing list of localities where fractionation between thorium and protactinium isotopes has been observed in marine sediments.  相似文献   

19.
Natural concentrations of 238U and δ234U values were determined in estuarine surface waters and pore waters of the Amazon and Fly (Papua New Guinea) Rivers to investigate U transport phenomena across river-dominated land–sea margins. Discharge from large, tropical rivers is a major source of dissolved and solid materials transported to the oceans, and are important in defining not only oceanic mass budgets, but also terrestrial weathering rates.On the Amazon shelf, salinity-property plots of dissolved organic carbon, pH and total suspended matter revealed two vastly contrasting water masses that were energetically mixed. In this mixing zone, the distribution of uranium was highly non-conservative and exhibited extensive removal from the water column. Uranium removal was most pronounced within a salinity range of 0–16.6, and likely the result of scavenging and flocculation reactions with inorganic (i.e., Fe/Mn oxides) and organic colloids/particles. Removal of uranium may also be closely coupled to exchange and resuspension processes at the sediment/water interface. An inner-shelf pore water profile indicated the following diagenetic processes: extensive (1 m) zones of Fe(III)—and, to a lesser degree, Mn(IV)—reduction in the absence of significant S(II) concentrations appeared to facilitate the formation of various authigenic minerals (e.g., siderite, rhodocrosite and uraninite). The pore water dissolved 238U profile co-varied closely with Mn(II). Isotopic variations as evidenced in δ234U pore waters values from this site revealed information on the origin and history of particulate uranium. Only after a depth of about 1 m did the δ234U value approach unity (secular equilibrium), denoting a residual lattice bound uranium complex that is likely an upper-drainage basin weathering product. This suggests that the enriched δ234U values represent a riverine surface complexation product that is actively involved in Mn–Fe diagenetic cycles and surface complexation reactions.In the Fly River estuary, 238U appears to exhibit a reasonably conservative distribution as a function of salinity. The absence of observed U removal does not necessarily imply non-reactivity, but instead may record an integration of concurrent U removal and release processes. There is not a linear correlation between δ234U vs. 1/238U that would imply simple two component mixing. It is likely that resuspension of bottom sediments, prolonged residence times in the lower reaches of the Fly River, and energetic particle–colloid interactions contribute to the observed estuarine U distribution. The supply of uranium discharged from humid, tropical river systems to the sea appears to be foremost influenced by particle/water interactions that are ultimately governed by the particular physiographic and hydrologic characteristics of an estuary.  相似文献   

20.
Parameter estimates of the process of passage into water of 234U and 238U isotopes with inequilibrium ratios during 238U decay in rock are given. The Northern Dvina Depression is used as an example to show that data on the fractionation of natural U isotopes can be used to assess the duration of the contact of fresh infiltration water of atmospheric origin with rocks, as well as the presence in rocks of areas with higher U concentrations, with which groundwater with higher radioactivity is associated.  相似文献   

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