Distribution and flux of 226Ra and 228Ra in the Amazon River estuary

Measurements of 226Ra and 228Ra in the Amazon River estuary show that desorption from riverborne suspended particulate matter in the estuary increases the riverine flux of both isotopes to the ocean by a factor of approximately 5 over the flux attributable to radium dissolved in the river water alone. The total Amazon flux supplies approximately 0.20% of the 226Ra and approximately 2.6% of the 228Ra standing crops in the near-surface Atlantic (0-200 m). Diffusive flux from estuarine and shelf sediments and desorption from resuspended sediments in the region of the estuary approximately double the estuarine 226Ra concentration and quadruple the estuarine 228Ra concentration above that caused by the dissolved and desorbed river components alone