Radon-222 as a tracer for mixing in the water column and benthic exchange in the southern California borderland |
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| Authors: | WM Berelson DE Hammond C Fuller |
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| Institution: | Department of Geological Sciences, University of Southern California, University Park, Los Angeles, CA 90007 U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | The concentrations of222Rn and226Ra in the water column and in the sediments of Santa Barbara and San Nicolas Basins have been measured semi-annually over the last four years. Approximately one-third of excess radon profiles obtained in the water column in these basins can be adequately fit with a one-dimensional eddy diffusion-decay model. Exponential profiles in the center of San Nicolas Basin yield a vertical eddy diffusivity of 26±16 cm2/s and 3.4±1.0 cm2/s for Santa Barbara Basin. The application of a two-dimensional eddy diffusion-decay model to profiles obtained in the center and on the margins of San Nicolas Basin produces a better fit than is found using a one-dimensional vertical eddy diffusivity. The two-dimensional model for San Nicolas Basin predicts a vertical eddy diffusivity of 17 cm2/s and a horizontal eddy diffusivity of 105 cm2/s. These values are in reasonable agreement with those predicted from the vertical buoyancy gradient and the horizontal length scale.The vertically integrated radon excess (standing crop) in the water column of Santa Barbara Basin averages 53±23 atoms/m2 s. This is in good agreement with the flux across the sediment-water interface of 60±15 atoms/m2 s, calculated by measuring radon emanation in the sediments as a function of depth and applying a molecular diffusion-reaction model. Hence, one-dimensional molecular diffusion accurately predicts the flux of radon from the laminated Santa Barbara Basin sediments. In San Nicolas Basin the integrated radon excess in the water column is 376±143 atoms/m2 s, but the diffusive randon flux from San Nicolas Basin sediments averages only 190±53 atoms/m2 s. This descrepancy indicates that a non-diffusive process, probably macrofaunal irrigation, supplies much of the flux of radon from San Nicolas Basin sediments. |
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