[en] Results of estuarine and coastal studies in the Long Island Sound and the New York Bight areas are summarized briefly. ²³⁴Th and ²²⁸Th were used to determine the residence time of thorium in the water column as a function of distance from the Long Island-New Jersey coast. Results indicate that virtually all of the ²³⁴Th is taken to the sediment column on a very short time scale. Paths for the redistribution of metals in the sediment column are outlined. Studies on the sources and properties of organic carbon delivered to the estuarine systems are reviewed briefly

[en] Progress for the period October 1979 through September 1980 is reported on research aimed at understanding the fate of radionuclides in Long Island Sound

[en] This study of the behavior of nuclides in natural water systems is divided into studies of atmospheric aerosols, soils, groundwater, rivers, estuaries and coastal zones, the carbon cycle and the growth rates of marine organisms

[en] Directly or indirectly man's spewing of his wastes into the coastal zone is coupled to his use of energy. The act of supplying energy for his ongoing activities is capable also of supplying some of the potentially most deleterious components to the coastal zone. Results are reported from studies of the pattern of physical and biological activity in the estuary which controls the distribution and possible neutralization of potential pollutants. Sediment chronologies applicable to aqueous repositories were established in order to identify the effects due to man and to assess the changing intensity of his activities over time. Natural and manmade radionuclides have been commonly used to identify age with depth in the sediment pile, but we find that processes other than sediment accumulation confound the record. Biological and physical disruptions that alter the record of radionuclides in a sediment from that expected from the source were studied in Long Island Sound using the natural radionuclides ²³⁴Th and ²¹⁰Po and trace elements Zn, Cd, Cu, and Ni. The uptake and retention of these elements in mussels was studied

[en] The ultimate source of ²²²Rn to the atmosphere is, of course, ²²⁶Ra. Tracking the mobility of radium therefore is part of the story of radon flux assessment. The study of radium mobility and radon flux measurements has involved virtually all the reservoirs at the Earth's surface. These include soils, groundwaters, coastal waters and the atmosphere. The attempt to understand the mobility of radium involved the study of almost all the radium isotopes (²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ra, ²²⁴Ra) and the parent and daughters of these isotopes

[en] The atmospheric fluxes of ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be at New Haven, CT, and Bermuda were determined and compared with model fluxes. The reliability of these radionuclides as tracers for other chemical species injected into the atmosphere by human activity was therefore tested. The distribution of ¹⁰Be in soil profiles was studied. The initial aim was to use the standing crop of ¹⁰Be in the soil to obtain an exposure age of the surface. Dated surfaces (i.e. raised coastal terraces, dated volcanic flows, etc) showed that ¹⁰Be does not totally accumulate in the soils but is mobilized. The mean residence time appears to be about 20,000 years. In a related study a number of the members of the ²³⁸U and ²³²Th decay series nuclides were measured in the major ground water aquifer types in Connecticut. Using ²²²Rn as a flux indicator it was possible to determine the adsorption and desorption coefficients, distribution coefficients and retardation factors of Ra, Pb, and Th in these aquifers. The study of the transport of nuclides by the Connecticut River and the study of the Amazon River plume were completed. Also completed was one of the most intensive studies of the behavior of natural radionuclides and plutonium in an estuarine system, the Long Island Sound, by analyzing two nearshore sites (SACHEM and FOAM) to complement the deep water sites (NWC and DEEP). The chronologies of accumulation, bioturbation, human disturbance and physical change were established for these varied environments

No abstract available

No abstract available

No abstract available

No abstract available