A new method of measuring Kr-81 and Kr-85 abundances in environmental samples

We demonstrate a new method for determining the Kr-81/Kr ratio in environmental samples based upon two measurements: the Kr-85/Kr-81 ratio measured by Atom Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA) and the Kr-85/Kr ratio measured by Low-Level Counting (LLC). This method can be used to determine the mean residence...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical research letters 2003-10, Vol.30 (20)
Main Authors: Du, X., Purtschert, R, Bailey, K, Lehmann, B E, Lorenzo, R, Lu, Z.-T., Mueller, P, O'Connor, T P, Sturchio, N C, Young, L
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We demonstrate a new method for determining the Kr-81/Kr ratio in environmental samples based upon two measurements: the Kr-85/Kr-81 ratio measured by Atom Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA) and the Kr-85/Kr ratio measured by Low-Level Counting (LLC). This method can be used to determine the mean residence time of groundwater in the range of 10 super 5-10 exp 6 a. It requires a sample of 100 micro l STP of Kr extracted from approximately two tons of water. With modern atmospheric Kr samples, we demonstrate that the ratios measured by ATTA and LLC are directly proportional to each other within the measurement error of +/- 10 percent; we calibrate the Kr-81/Kr ratio of modern air measured using this method; and we show that the Kr-81/Kr ratios of samples extracted from air before and after the development of the nuclear industry are identical within the measurement error.
ISSN:0094-8276
DOI:10.1029/2003GL018293