Bomb‐fallout ¹³⁷Cs as a marker of geomorphic stability in dune sands and soils, Pinery Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Abstract

The anthropogenic radionuclide 137 Cs has been extensively utilized as a tracer of geomorphic processes in the northern hemisphere since its deposition during atmospheric testing of nuclear devices in the 1950s and 1960s. The distribution of bomb-fallout 137 Cs was measured on a sequence of coastal dune sands and soils at Pinery Provincial Park, on the coast of Lake Huron in southern Ontario, Canada. The depth distribution within the stabilized, developed soils inland reflected the relationship between clay content and the adsorption and immobilization of the radionuclide. However, the influence of soil organic matter, silt-sized particles and vegetation cycling on the profile distribution could not be discounted. Within the geomorphically dynamic dune sands near the coast, there was a significant activity of 137 Cs even though the sands were lacking in clay-sized particles. Within a buried soil on the inland side of a large active dune blowout, the distribution of 137 Cs with depth was useful as a stratigraphic marker of the rates of accumulation of sands at that position. Therefore 137 Cs may be a useful alternative to erosion pins, sequential air photos and sediment traps in the monitoring of dune destabilization in coastal environments.

Radioactivity of sand, groundwater and wild plants in northeast Sinai, Egypt

“…Pearson correlation coefficients between the TFs and the measured parameters of sand are listed in Table 6 No study has established any influencing variable on the concentration of 137 Cs in dune sands, presumably due to an assumed lack of an adequate adsorption surface for the radionuclide in such material. The carbonate materials of the sands were considered the main contributors to 137 Cs retention [33]. In that study, a positive relationship between the percentage of CaCO 3 and the 137 Cs (r = 0.66; p < 0.05) was found.…”

Gamma‐ray spectrometry as versatile tool in soil science: A critical review

“…The anthropogenic radionuclide 137 Cs can efficiently indicate SOC in soils. After its deposition, 137 Cs readily adsorbs onto clay particles and is taken up by vegetation due to its similar properties to K ( Vanden Bygaart and Protz , ). The authors found 137 Cs contents to be most prominent in the top 5 cm together with the organic matter and clay size fraction of the investigated sandy soil in Canada.…”

“…Downward movement or distribution of the nuclide does not happen as solute but via, e.g ., bioturbation ( Takahashi et al., ) or clay illuviation ( Hao et al., ). Vanden Bygaart and Protz () further highlighted the fact that 137 Cs enters the nutrient cycling via litter. Specific transfer factors for soil‐to‐plant assimilation exist.…”

“…Vanden Bygaart and Protz () studied podzol profiles horizon‐wise in Canada. Potassium‐40 and 232 Th gamma radiation was measured in the laboratory.…”

Environmental assessment of gamma-radiation levels in stream sediments around Sharm El-Sheikh, South Sinai, Egypt

“…The result has established no influencing variable on the concentration of 137 Cs, presumably due to an assumed lack of an adequate adsorption surface for the radionuclide in dune sediment. The carbonate materials of the sands were considered the main contributors to 137 Cs retention (VandenBygaart and Protz, 2001) because of the positive relationship between percentage of CaCO 3 and the 137 Cs (r ¼ 0.66; p < 0.05). No significant correlation (r ¼ 0.54) was obtained in the present analysis of 137 Cs and CaCO 3 and in a study in Northeast Sinai (Ramadan et al, 2011a).…”