Excess polonium-210 in the coastal atmosphere originating from marine biogenic material

The depositional fluxes of atmospheric polonium-210 were measured at one site in Xiamen from August 2001 to March 2002. With predominant marine air mass, the depositional fluxes of atmospheric polonium-210 ranged from 0.01 to 0.09 Bq/（m^2· d）, with an average of 0.04 Bq/（m^2 · d）. The seasonal pattern showed elevated polonium-210 fluxes in summer and autumn rather than in winter. Atmospheric depositional fluxes of polonium-210 showed a good correlation with beryllium-7 （r^2 =0. 85） and lead-210 fluxes （r^2 =0.71 ）, indicating their similar removal mechanism from atmosphere. The relationship between the polonium-210 depositional fluxes and the precipitation amount demonstrated that the precipitation dominates the polonium-210 removal from the atmosphere. The observed high activity ratios of polonium-210 to lead-210 indicated the occurrence of excess polonium-210 in coastal atmosphere, which may originate from marine surface waters either by indirect （foam）, or mare likely, direct （ air - sea exchange） input of marine bingenic material into the atmosphere. This source is even more important than the in situ decay of lead-210.

The distribution of iodine and effects of phosphatization on it in the ferromanganese crusts from the Mid-Pacific Ocean

In the present paper, iodine （I）, iron （Fe）, manganese （Mn）, cobalt （Co）, phosphorus （P） and calcium （Ca） contents in three ferromanganese crusts from the Pacific Ocean are measured by spectrophotometric method and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometers （ICP-AES） to investigate the contents and distribution of iodine in ferromanganese crusts. The results show that iodine contents in three crusts vary between 27.1 and 836 mg/kg, with an average of 172 mg/kg, and the profile of iodine in the three crusts all exhibits a two-stage distribution zone： a young non-phosphatized zone and an old phosphatized zone that is rich in I, P and Ca. The iodine content ratios of old to young zone in MP5D44, CXD62-1 and CXD08-1 are 2.3, 3.4 and 13.7, respectively. The boundary depths of two-stage zone in MP5D44, CXD62-1 and CXD08-1 locate at 4.0 cm, 2.5 cm and 3.75 cm, respectively, and the time of iodine mutation in three crusts ranges from 17-37 Ma derived from 129I dating and Co empirical formula, which is consistent with the times of Cenozoic phosphatization events. The present study shows that the intensity of phosphatization is the main responsible for the distribution pattern of iodine in the crusts on the basis of the correlation analysis. Consequently, iodine is a sensitive indicator for phosphatization.

Measurement of ^(129)I in ferromanganese crust with AMS

In the present study, the analytical method for ^129iodine （^129I） in ferromanganese crusts is developed and ^129iodine/^127iodine （^129I/^127I） ratio in ferromanganese crusts is measured by the accelerator mass spectrometry （AMS）. The developed method is applied to analyze ^129I/^127I ratio in two ferromanganese crusts MP5D44 and CXD08-1 collected from the Mid-Pacific Ocean. The results show that ^129I/^127I ratio in MP5D44 and CXD08-1 crusts varies from 7×10^-14 to 1.27×10^-12, with the lowest value falling on the detection limit level of AMS reported by previous literatures. For the depth distribution of ^129I/^127I, it is found that both MP5D44 and CXD08-1 crusts have two growth generations, and the ^129I/^127I profiles in two generations all displayed an approximate exponential decay. According to the ^129I/^127I ratio, the generate age of bottom layer of MP5D44 and CXD08-1 was estimated to be 54.77 and 69.69 Ma, respectively.

Size-fractionated uranium isotopes in surface waters in the Jiulong Estuary in China

Surface water was collected from the Jiulong Estuary for determination of activity concentrations of uranium isotopes in different size fractions, namely, greater than 53, 10 -53, 2 - 10, 0.4 -2 μm, 10 000 u -0.4 μm and less than 10 000 u fractions by microfihration and cross-flow uhrafiltration technologies. Results indicated that most of the dissolved uranium （ 〈 0.4 μm） exis- ted in the low molecular mass fraction （ 〈 10 000 u）, and the colloidal uranium-238 （10 000 u -0.4 μm） only contributed less than 1% of the dissolved uranium-238. The fractions of colloidal uranium in the dissolved phases decreased with the increasing sa- linity. A positive linear relationship between uranium-238 activities and salinities was observed for the dissolved, colloidal and low molecular mass fractions, indicating a conservative behavior of uranium in the Jiulong Estuary. In the particulate phases （ 〉 0.4 μm）, the partitioning of uranium isotopes among different size fractions was controlled by the partitioning of particle concentrations. In the regions with salinities below 20, the partitioning of uranium-238 among different size fractions was as follows： 10 - 53 μm 〉 2 - 10 μm 〉 0.4 - 2 μm greater than above 53 μm. However, the order at the offshore station with salinities above 30 changed as follows ： 0.4 - 2 μm 〉 10 - 53 μm 〉 2 - 10 μm greater than above 53 μm. The fraction of the 0.4 - 2 μm particles increased at the offshore station, suggesting the increased contribution of the authigenic uranium. The activity ratio of uranium-234 to uranium-238 in the dissolved phases, including the low molecular mass fraction and the colloidal fraction, was larger than unity, showing the occurrence of excess uranium-234. In contrast, the activity ratio of uranium-234 to uranium-238 in all size fractions of the particulate phase was close to the equilibrium value （1.0）. The observed different values of the activity ratio of uranium-234 to uranium-238 in the dissolved phase and the particulate phase were ascribed to the preferential leaching of uranium-234 and the small amount of the leaching particulate uranium. The mass ratio of thorium-232 to uranium-238 also showed different values between the dissolved phase and the particulate phase. Mass ratio of thorium-232 to uranium-238 in the dissolved, colloidal and low molecular mass fractions was less than unity, while those in the different size fractions of particulate phases were larger than unity, reflecting a different behavior between uranium and thorium during their transport into the ocean.

Determination of cosmogenic ^(32)P and ^(33)P in environmental samples

Understanding phosphorus dynamics in marine environment is of great importance, and appropriate trac- ers for phosphorus cycling in oceans are invaluable. In this study, two methods were developed for extrac- tion, purification, and determination of naturally occurring ^32p and ^33P in rainwater, marine plankton and sediments using both a low-level beta counter （LBC） and an ultra-low-level liquid scintillation spectrome- ter （LSS）. Blanks, chemical yields and counting efficiencies were quantified for both methods. The chemical purification of ^32P and ^33P separated by both procedures was validated by their decay curves. The absorber thickness of aluminum for LBC was assessed as 39.2 mg/cm2. ^32P and ^33P specific activities in some rain samples were determined by both methods and showed good consistent results. The advantage of the LSS over the LBC is apparent in its high counting efficiency and in determining samples with high concentration of stable phosphorus. However, when measuring environmental samples with low concentration of stable phosphorus, such as rainwater, both methods can be used and each has its distinct advantage.

Biological productivity and carbon cycling in the Arctic Ocean

Primary production, bacterial production, par-ticulate organic carbon fluxes and organic carbon burial rates were quantified during the summer period of 1999 in the Arctic Ocean via 14C uptake, 3H uptake, 234Th/238U disequilibrium and 210Pbex dating, respectively. The integrated primary production in the water column was as high as 197 mmolC/(m2·d) in the Chukchi shelf and was 3.8 mmolC/(m2·d) in the Canada Basin. These rates are higher than those reported previously. The ratios of bacterial production to primary production in the study region were higher than 0.5, indicating that microbial activity is not depressed but important in cold Arctic waters. 234Th/238U dis-equilibria were evident at the station in the Canada Basin. The presence of significant 234Th deficiency suggested that scavenging and removal processes are also important to bio-geochemical cycles of trace elements in the Arctic Ocean. Particulate organic carbon export flux was estimated to be 1.0 mmolC/(m2·d). Measurements of sediment

The mean residence time of river water in the Canada Basin

Seawater was collected from the western Arctic Ocean for measurements of 18O, 226Ra and 228Ra. The fractions of river runoff and sea ice melt-water in water samples were estimated by using δ18O-S-PO* tracer system. The mean residence time of river water in the Canada Basin was calculated based on the relationship between 228Ra/226Ra)A.R. and the fractions of river runoff in the shelf and deep ocean. Our results showed that the river runoff fractions in the Canada Basin were significantly higher than those in the shelf regions, suggesting that the Canada Basin is a major storage region for Arctic river water. 228Ra activity concentrations in the Chukchi shelf and the Beaufort shelf ranged from 0.16 to 1.22 Bq/m3, lower than those reported for shelves in the low and middle latitudes, indicating the effect of sea ice melt-water. A good positive linear relationship was observed between 228Ra/226Ra)A.R. and the fraction of river runoff for shelf waters, while the 228Ra/226Ra)A.R. in the Canada Basin was located below this re-gressive line. The low 228Ra/226Ra)A.R. in the Canada Basin was ascribed to 228Ra decay during shelf wa-ters transporting to the deep ocean. The residence time of 5.0―11.0 a was estimated for the river water in the Canada Basin, which determined the time response of surface freshening in the North Atlantic to the river runoff into the Arctic Ocean.

^(226)Ra evidence for the ecosystem shift over the past 40 years in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre

Surface seawater was collected for ^(226)Ra measurement in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre from July to October, 1999 and October to December, 2003. Combined with the historical data reported for this sea area, a declined trend of surface ^(226)Ra concentrations was observed since 1960s, indicating the ecosystem shift in response to global warming. On one side, the enhanced stratification of the upper water column resulting from global warming reduced the ^(226)Ra input from the depth, on the other, the temporal increase of biological production resulting from the climate-related ecosystem structure change strengthened the ^(226)Ra removal from the surface ocean. Both the physical and biological processes resulted in the decrease of surface ^(226)Ra concentrations in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. The temporal trend of surface ^(226)Ra concentrations was consistent with the trends of chlorophyll a, silicate, phosphate and primary production previously reported. This study provided ^(226)Ra evidence for the ecosystem shift under global change.