ISSN:
1365-2389
Quelle:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Thema:
Geologie und Paläontologie
,
Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Gartenbau, Fischereiwirtschaft, Hauswirtschaft
Notizen:
Gamma-emitting radionuclides are a natural source of radiation that can be a concern for human health, therefore it is important to know the radionuclide backgrounds in soils and to assess their mobility and transfer in ecosystems. Concentrations of natural radionuclides were determined in soils from a small catchment in the middle mountain environment of the Central Spanish Pyrenees. Radioisotope activities were well within the natural ranges for soil, averaging 27, 26, 32 and 500 Bq kg−1 for 238U, 226Ra, 208Tl and 40K, respectively. Their distributions in the soil profile were analysed along three transects of contrasting physiography and soil type. Uranium was depleted in upper layers of the soil and slightly enriched in deeper sections, while 226Ra, 40K and 208Tl were more uniformly distributed. Radionuclide activities in the Calcaric Regosols on the shrub slope were less than those in the deeper and better developed Haplic Kastanozems under forest and in Calcaric Fluvisols in the valley bottom. These spatial patterns seem to be affected by the soil type; other landscape features, such as slope orientation and vegetation cover, appeared to have an indirect effect. The results indicate that the depth distribution of the radionuclides is affected by some soil properties, including pH, carbonates, organic matter and particle size, and soil processes, such as leaching and adsorption.
Materialart:
Digitale Medien
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2389.2002.00488.x
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