Artificial Radiotracer Applications in Aquatic Environments

The use of artificial radiotracers in the environment is analogous to their use in the human body. In both domains they provide data on flow rates and pathways, on exchange with materials and on their final discharge from the studied system. Artificially injected radiotracers have been used to investigate flow in natural waters since the 1950's. Identification of flow paths, diagnosis of blockages or leakage, measurement of flow rates, dispersion and exchange processes, such as biological uptake or sorption, are all aspects to which a wide range of artificial radioactive tracers have been applied. Increasingly radiotracers are used in combination with numerical modelling to improve confidence in the predictive capacity of models used in the management of our water resources and to extend their spatial applicability. In turn this allows us to use less and less tracer and demonstrate that the human and environmental impact of modern radiotracer studies is minimal. (author)