Use of uranium isotopes as a temporal and spatial tracer of nuclear contamination in the environment.

The Fernald Feed Materials Production Center (FFMPC) was established in 1951 to process natural uranium (U) ore, enriched uranium (EU) and depleted uranium (DU). This study tests the utility of U isotopic ratios in sediment cores and lichens as indicators of the aerial extent, degree and timing of anthropogenic U contamination, using the FFMPC as a test case. An 80-cm-long sediment core was extracted from an impoundment located approximately 6.7 km southwest of the FFMPC. Elemental concentrations of thorium (2.7-6.2 µg g(-1)) and U (0.33-1.33 µg g(-1)) as well as major and minor U isotopes were analyzed in the core. The lack of measurable (137)Cs in the deepest sample as well as a natural (235)U/(238)U signature and no measurable (236)U, are consistent with pre-FFMPC activity. Anomalously elevated U with respect to Th concentrations occur in seven consecutive samples immediately above the base of the core (62-76 cm depth). Samples with elevated U concentrations also show variable (235)U/(238)U (0.00645-0.00748), and all contain measurable (236)U ((236)U/(238)U = 2.1 × 10(-6)-3.6 × 10(-5)). Correspondence between the known releases of U dust from the FFMPC through time and variations in sediment core U concentrations, (235)U/(238)U and (236)U/(238)U ratios provide evidence for distinct releases of both DU and EU. Furthermore, these relationships demonstrate that the sediment core serves as a robust archive of past environmental U contamination events. Samples in the upper 40 cm display natural (235)U/(238)U, but measurable (236)U/(238)U ((236)U/(238)U = 5.68 × 10(-6)-1.43 × 10(-5)), further indicating the continued presence of anthropogenic U in present-day sediment. Three local lichen samples were also analyzed, and all display either EU or DU signatures coupled with elevated (236)U/(238)U, recording airborne U contamination from the FFMPC.

Distribution and significance of small, artificial water bodies across the United States landscape.

At least 2.6 million small, artificial water bodies dot the landscape of the conterminous United States; most are in the eastern half of the country. These features account for approximately 20% of the standing water area across the United States, and their impact on hydrology, sedimentology, geochemistry, and ecology is apparently large in proportion to their area. These features locally elevate evaporation, divert and delay downstream water flow, and modify groundwater interactions. They apparently intercept about as much eroded soil as larger, better-documented reservoirs. Estimated vertical accretion rates are much higher, hence, inferred sedimentary chemical reactions must be different in the small features than in larger ones. Finally, these features substantially alter the characteristics of aquatic habitats across the landscape.