1,720,984 research outputs found
137Cs vertical distribution at the deep basins of the North and Central Aegean Sea, Greece
No full textLarge volume seawater samples were collected for the determination of 137Cs concentration along with depth in the deep basins of North and Central Aegean Sea. The vertical 137Cs distribution showed maximum concentration at the bottom of the basins, while the minimum values corresponded to the intermediate layer, where Levantine water exists. The surface 137Cs activity is found to lie between the two limits and is originated from the Black Sea waters. The typical oceanographic advection-diffusion balance model is modified to a diffusion-settling-decay balance model to better understand the vertical distribution and variation of the 137Cs concentration in the deep basins. In addition, the diffusivity of each basin, as well as the settling speed of particulate 137Cs is also estimated. The results are compared with theoretical approach as well as with previous data. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd
Special Issue on geophysical processes in ABBaCo project (environmental restoration and bathing at SIN Bagnoli-Coroglio, Southern Tyrrhenian Sea)
No full textThis paper intends to provide the reader with an overview of the Special Issue (SI) on ABBaCo project, an extensive research project aimed to characterise the environmental quality and a possible remediation and restoration strategy of the marine area impacted by the Bagnoli industrial site. The main focus of this SI is to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the physical environment of the Bagnoli-Coroglio Bay (Gulf of Napoli, southern Tyrrhenian Sea) of the geophysical processes controlling the sediment dynamics and of the resulting pollutants distribution. Through eight contributions, an ensemble of interdisciplinary articles has been collected, emphasising the importance of tackling technical and scientific problems at different scales and from different points of view
A numerical investigation for dating 210Pbex and 137Cs vertical profiles in a coastal area: The Eastern Ligurian Sea, Italy
No full text210Pb and 137Cs vertical profiles in coastal sediments are studied using a sedimentation-mixing model. The cores were sampled in a complex coastal area characterized by the presence of different impact sources and environmental uses (riverine inputs, commercial and military harbour, marine protected area) in the Eastern Ligurian Sea, Italy. The analysis of accumulation and dispersion processes is performed using a numerical advection and diffusion model, in terms of the independent variables - time and mass depth. The flux of 210Pb is considered in steady state while the time dependent input flux of 137Cs is estimated from the concentration of this radionuclide in seawater, starting from observed data from 1960 to date. Differently from the atmospheric fallout distribution, this input function contains, at least partly, the contribution that still continues to reach the sediment in the last 25 years as a result of coastal and riverine input. The analysis highlights some features obscured in experimental data, and allows comparison of the effects of different scenarios. The specific effect of a pulsed input is discussed by analysing the effects of the Chernobyl event. The effects of mass flux in non–steady state are also considered: we observe that since the pulsed inputs in 137Cs are now too old, a strong superficial mixing and a time-variable flux produce similar profiles for both radionuclides. Hence, the general environmental knowledge of the area remains the main instrument to fully define the active processes in some cores
Settling fluxes and sediment accumulation rates by the combined use of sediment traps and sediment cores in Tema Harbour (Ghana)
No full textSettling fluxes and sediment accumulation rates in coastal Tema Harbour (Ghana) were investigated by the combined analyses of results in sediment traps and sediment cores. Sediment traps were deployed at 5 stations within the Tema Harbour at two sampling depths and were retrieved every two weeks till the end of 12 weeks to estimate the Settling Fluxes (SFs). Four sediment cores from the harbour were analysed for their radioactivity (7Be, 234Th, 210Pb, 212Pb, 226Ra, 40K and 137Cs) profiles to quantify Sediment Accumulation Rates (SARs). The sediment cores exhibited variable bulk density profiles, indicating highly dynamic and non-steady sedimentation conditions. 7Be-derived gross-estimates of very recent SARs using the constant flux-constant sedimentation (CF-CS) model were in the range of 2.5–9.0 g·cm− 2·y− 1. These values were much lower than the estimated average SFs (15.2–53.8 g·cm− 2·y− 1), indicating sediment resuspension plays an important role. On a decadal time scale, conventional 210Pb sediment dating models did not allow any estimation of SARs in the Tema Harbour. Thus, the 210Pb-based TERESA model was applied to depict a reliable scenario for sedimentation with time-averaged SARs in the range of 1.4–3.0 g·cm− 2·y− 1 and fluxes of matter contributed by the marine inflow and local sources. Sediment accretion rates of 1.7–3 cm·y− 1 were also inferred, which may pose a moderate problem of sustainability for the Tema Harbour. This study reveals how the geochemical behaviour of different radionuclides with Gamma spectrometry in the marine environment can be used to obtain reliable information on the complex dynamics of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), even in a very disturbed and anthropic environment as a coastal harbour area where (1) conventional 210Pb-based dating methods fail and (2) the use of sediment traps and 234Th and 7Be profiles in sediment cores show serious constraints. © 2017 Elsevier B.V
Pathways of inorganic and organic contaminants from land to deep sea: The case study of the Gulf of Cagliari (W Tyrrhenian Sea)
No full textIn continental margins, canyons appear to act as natural conduits of sediments and organic matter from the shelf to deep basins, providing an efficient physical pathway for transport and accumulation of particles with their associated land-produced contaminants. However, these mechanisms have not been yet sufficiently explored by geochemical markers. The continental slope of the south Sardinia has been used as a natural laboratory for investigating mechanisms and times of transfer dynamics of contaminants from land to sea and from shelf to deep sea through an articulated system of submarine canyons. Here, dynamics of contaminants have been investigated in a pilot area of the central Mediterranean basin (Gulf of Cagliari, S Sardinia) where important industrial plants are sited since beginning of the last century. Five sediment cores dated by 210Pb and 137Cs reveal: i) a complex dynamics of organic and inorganic contaminants from point source areas on land to the deep sea and ii) a crucial role played by canyons and bottom morphology as primary pathway conveying sediments and associated contaminants from sources to very far deep sea environments. In particular, this study provides new integrated tools to properly understand mechanisms of connection between coastal sectors and deep sea. This is challenging mostly in regions where coastal pollution could represent critical threats for larger areas of the Mediterranean Sea. © 2018 Elsevier B.V
Evolution and fluxes of 137Cs in the black sea/turkish straits system/north aegean sea
No full textThe vertical profiles of 137Cs were determined in the North Aegean, Marmara and Black Seas, to assess inventories and fluxes of the radionuclide in these basins. The inventory of 137Cs in the Western Black Sea integrated from the surface down to 400m water depth is 3.4±0.1kBqm-2, which is surprisingly close to the amount determined in 1988, decay corrected to 2007 (2.9±0.1kBqm-2). On the other hand, based on the comparison of profiles roughly 20years apart, it is estimated that about 1kBqm-2 has been transferred from above the halocline to depths below the halocline, emphasizing the effective redistribution of tracers within the same period. We estimate that about 12TBqy-1 of 137Cs presently leaves the Black Sea with the upper layer flow through the Bosphorus and only 2TBqy-1 is returned with the lower layer inflow of Mediterranean water from the Marmara Sea. Accounting for river fluxes, estimated on the order of 2TBqy-1 few years after the Chernobyl accident, and possibly decreased by now, we can thus estimate a net rate of loss of about 8-10TBqy-1.Investigating the effective redistribution in the upper water column, the supply by the inflowing Mediterranean water alone does not explain the increase of 137Cs concentration and inventory at intermediate depths in the Western Black Sea. The most important mechanism transferring 137Cs and dissolved contaminants from the surface water to the sub-pycnocline layer appears to be the turbulent entrainment of a larger quantity of Black Sea water into the inflowing plume of Mediterranean water through mixing processes on the southwestern shelf and continental slope following its exit from the Bosphorus. This process produces an extra export of some10TBqy-1 of 137Cs from the surface to the sub-pycnocline depths of the Black Sea, a quantity comparable in magnitude to the total export out from the basin. It is the entrainment flux resulting from the mixing, and the further advection and penetration of this water into the Black Sea deeper layer (200-600m) that seems to maintain the inventory with little change over time. Through these two processes the Black Sea surface layer (0-50m) loses every year about 4% of its total inventory of 137Cs. © 2013 Elsevier B.V
210Pb mass accumulation rates in the depositional area of the Magra River (Mediterranean Sea, Italy)
No full textNine sediment cores were collected between 2009 and 2012 in the inner continental shelf (Mediterranean Sea, Italy) mainly influenced by the Magra River, at water depths ranging from 11 to 64 m. Mass Accumulation Rates (MARs) were calculated through 210Pb analysed by Gamma spectrometry. Three different dating models (single and two-layer CF-CS, CRS) were applied to clay normalised 210Pbxs profiles and 137Cs was used to validate the 210Pb geochronology. The maximum MAR values (>2 g cm-2 yr-1) were found in the region adjacent to the Magra River mouth and outside the Gulf of La Spezia (0.9±0.1 g cm-2 yr-1 at St. 3-C6 and 4-C4). Results from 137Cs/210Pbxs ratios calculated in Surface Mixed Layers (SMLs) evidenced the coastal boundaries of the Magra River depositional area, which is very limited towards south. Differently, in the north-west sector, fine sediments are generally driven by the Ligurian Current and move towards north-west: at the deepest and most distant station from the River mouth, the MAR value is the lowest one in the study area.Few major Magra River floods occurred during the sediment core sampling period. By using the short-lived radioisotope 7Be as a tracer of river floods, a clear 7Be signature of 2009 flood is present at St. 1-SA1C. Finally, by analyzing the clay normalised 210Pbxs profiles, a decrease of its activity dating the years 1999 and 2000 is observed in four cores, corresponding to two major Magra River floods occurring in those years. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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