Type

Text

Type

Thesis

Advisor

Henry Bokuniewicz | Kirk Cochran. | Robert C. Aller.

Date

2011-05-01

Keywords

diffusive flux, hypoxia, Mn, Ra, radioisotope | Geochemistry -- Chemical Oceanography

Department

Department of Marine and Atmospheric Science

Language

en_US

Source

This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.

Identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/11401/71580

Publisher

The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.

Format

application/pdf

Abstract

The four naturally occurring Ra isotopes serve as tools to quantify submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in coastal areas. In constructing the Ra mass balance for a given system, Ra sources and sinks must be accurately determined, then measured or eliminated as negligible. SGD &mdash a Ra source &mdash is commonly determined by difference. In Long Island Sound (LIS), a significant Ra source is diffusive flux from muddy sediments. This study investigates the seasonality of 223,224Ra diffusive fluxes linked to seasonal Mn redox cycling correlated with hypoxia (dissolved oxygen &le 3.0 mg l-1) in LIS. The three components of this study &mdash water column and nearshore concentrations and laboratory flux core incubations &mdash demonstrate a coupling of Ra and Mn cycling in LIS, both temporally and spatially. The overall relationship between Mn and Ra in LIS suggests that seasonal redox cycling of Mn is an important factor controlling Ra distributions in the Sound. Solid phase Mn4+ (under oxic conditions) appears to restrict the diffusion of Ra from muddy sediment, whereas dissolved phase Mn2+ (under hypoxic conditions) is associated with higher Ra concentrations in LIS and `pulses' of Ra in laboratory flux core incubations. Therefore, the diffusive flux of Ra to a given coastal sea should be evaluated seasonally to more accurately quantify SGD.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.