Effect of deposit feeders on migration of137Cs in lake sediments |
| |
| Authors: | John A Robbins Peter L McCall J Berton Fisher John R Krezoski |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Great Lakes Research Division, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 U.S.A.;2. Department of Earth Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106 U.S.A. |
| |
| Abstract: | Illite clay particles with adsorbed137Cs were added as a submillimeter layer to the surface of silt-clay sediments contained in rectangular Plexiglas cells stored in a temperature-regulated aquarium, in order to trace the effect of the oligochaete, Tubifex tubifex, and the amphipod, Pontoporeia hoyi, on mass redistribution near the sediment-water interface. A well-collimated NaI gamma detector scanned each sediment column (～10 cm deep) at daily or weekly intervals for six months, depicting the time evolution of radioactivity with and without added benthos. In a cell with tubificids (～5 × 104 m?2), which feed below 3 cm and defecate on surface sediments, the labeled layer was buried at a rate of 0.052 ± 0.007 cm/day (20°C). When labeled particles entered the feeding zone,137Cs reappeared in surface sediments creating a bimodal activity profile. In time, the activity tended toward a uniform distribution over the upper 6 cm, decreasing exponentially below to undetectable levels by 9 cm. In a cell with amphipods (～1.6 × 104 m?2) uniform activity developed rapidly (～17 days) down to a well-defined depth (1.5 cm). The mixing of sediments by Pontoporeia is described by a simple quantitative model of eddy diffusive mixing of sediment solids. The value of the diffusion coefficient, 4.4 cm2/yr (7°C) was computed from a least squares fit of theoretical to observed profile broadening over time. In a cell without benthos, small but measurable migration of137Cs indicated an effective molecular diffusion coefficient of 0.02 cm2/yr. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
