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The regularities of distribution of radionuclides and rare-earth elements in bottom sediments of Siberian lakes

V. D. Strakhovenko, B. L. Shcherbov, I. N. Malikova and Yu. S. Vosel'
The regularities of distribution of radionuclides and rare-earth elements in bottom sediments of Siberian lakes
Russian Geology and Geophysics (November 2010) 51 (11): 1167-1178

Abstract

Geochemical studies of the ecosystems of 184 Siberian lakes in three largest zones of northern Asia (humid, arid, and semiarid) and in mountainous area were carried out. The contents of natural radionuclides, radiocesium, and rare-earth elements in conjugate components of the systems and the types of the main sources of the bottom sediment material have been determined. Dating of the bottom sediments was made by the activity of radioisotopes (super 137) Cs and (super 210) Pb, which permitted estimation of the sedimentation rates in lakes in different regions of Siberia: 0.35 cm/year in the south and 0.25-0.3 cm/year in the north. Six main ions have been determined in the waters of the studied lakes: Ca (super 2+) , Mg (super 2+) , Na (super +) , HCO (sub 3) (super -) , SO (sub 4) (super 2-) , and Cl (super -) . The distribution of natural radionuclides in the stratified sections of bottom sediments of Siberian lakes evidences the stable sedimentation and characterizes their contents in the soils of water-catchment areas, which can be considered background contents there. Sediments enriched in organic matter have higher concentrations of U and lower ones of Th and K. The Th/K ratio in the studied bottom sediments is the same as in the soils. The Th/U ratios are somewhat lower than those in the soils because U is accumulated by chemogenic and organic components. The overall (super 137) Cs pollution of bottom sediments of Siberian lakes is close to the global background (40 mCi/km (super 2) in 2000), but in the Altai Territory and Buryatia and Altai Republics it is twice higher. The uneven areal and temporal distribution of residual radiocesium is observed not only in the lacustrine sediments but also in the lake water areas. The REE patterns of bottom sediments of different mineral types are similar to those of continental crust and clays of the Russian Platform, though organogenic and carbonate sediments have higher absolute REE contents than terrigenous ones. Pelitic fraction is the main REE concentrator in the bottom sediments.


ISSN: 1068-7971
Serial Title: Russian Geology and Geophysics
Serial Volume: 51
Serial Issue: 11
Title: The regularities of distribution of radionuclides and rare-earth elements in bottom sediments of Siberian lakes
Affiliation: Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, V. S. Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation
Pages: 1167-1178
Published: 201011
Text Language: English
Publisher: Allerton Press, New York, NY, United States
References: 44
Accession Number: 2021-074791
Categories: Environmental geologyGeochemistry of rocks, soils, and sediments
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Illustration Description: illus. incl. 4 tables, sketch map
N50°00'00" - N80°00'00", W170°00'00" - E60°00'00"
Country of Publication: United States
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2021, American Geosciences Institute. Reference includes data from GeoScienceWorld, Alexandria, VA, United States
Update Code: 202152
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