A review of HTO evaporation studies at Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories

Results of the tritium evaporation and exchange studies on Perch Lake are discussed. A model is used to describe the tritium distribution in the atmospheric moisture above the lake. The model, however, underestimates the tritium content at heights above 5 m; such a discrepancy is attributed to the characteristics of the wind speed variation with height, by which vertical diffusion proceeds at somewhat greater rate than expected. Therefore, to represent the Perch Lake system adequately, a three-layer model is required, incorporating a thin laminar layer at the surface, a growing turbulent internal boundary layer and a third layer with high eddy diffusivity. Pan experiments have been used to determine the exponent n=(h-epsilon)/(1-h+Δepislon) of the equation describing the change in isotopic composition during evaporation. The agreement between the experimental and the theoretical values is good for high to middle relative humidities, but significant deviations are shown at low humidities. (author)