Pathways and mean residence times of dissolved pollutants in the ocean derived from transient tracers and stable isotopes
Creators
- 1. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York, NY (United States)
- 2. Institut fuer Umweltphysik, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, D-69120 Heidelberg (Germany)
- 3. Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- 4. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA (United States)
Description
During the past decades, a variety of transient tracers have been used to derive information on pathways and mean residence times of oceanic water masses. Here, we discuss how information obtained in such studies can be applied to studying the spreading of dissolved pollutants in the ocean. The discussion focuses on the transient tracers tritium/3He and the H218O/H216O ratio of water. These tracers are used in combination with CFCs and 14C in a case study of Arctic Ocean contaminant transport to: (1) separate the freshwater components contained in the near-surface waters; (2) infer mean pathways of freshwater and associated contaminants from the H218O/H216O distribution in the surface waters; and (3) determine mean residence times of the surface, intermediate, deep and bottom waters
Additional details
Publishing Information
- Journal Title
- Science of the Total Environment
- Journal Volume
- 237-238
- Journal Issue
- 0
- Journal Page Range
- p. 15-30
- ISSN
- 0048-9697
INIS
- Country of Publication
- Netherlands
- Country of Input or Organization
- Netherlands
- INIS RN
- 30052846
- Subject category
- S58: GEOSCIENCES;
- Descriptors DEI
- ARCTIC OCEAN; CARBON 14; CHLOROFLUOROCARBONS; ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE PATHWAY; FRESH WATER; HELIUM 3; OXYGEN 16; OXYGEN 18; POLLUTANTS; SEAS; STABLE ISOTOPES; SURFACE WATERS; TRACER TECHNIQUES
- Descriptors DEC
- BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; CARBON ISOTOPES; EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI; EVEN-ODD NUCLEI; HELIUM ISOTOPES; HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS; ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS; ISOTOPES; LIGHT NUCLEI; NUCLEI; ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS; ORGANIC COMPOUNDS; ORGANIC FLUORINE COMPOUNDS; ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; OXYGEN ISOTOPES; RADIOISOTOPES; SEAS; STABLE ISOTOPES; SURFACE WATERS; WATER; YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES