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

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Read Full Article (file size: 136616 bytes) Cited by GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 30, NO. 20, 2068, doi:10.1029/2003GL018293, 2003 A new method of measuring ⁸¹Kr and ⁸⁵Kr abundances in environmental samples X. Du Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, USA Physics Department, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA R. Purtschert Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland K. Bailey Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, USA B. E. Lehmann Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland R. Lorenzo Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland Z.-T. Lu Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, USA P. Mueller Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, USA T. P. O'Connor Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, USA N. C. Sturchio Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, USA L. Young Chemistry Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, USA Abstract We demonstrate a new method for determining the ⁸¹Kr/Kr ratio in environmental samples based upon two measurements: the ⁸⁵Kr/⁸¹Kr ratio measured by Atom Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA) and the ⁸⁵Kr/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 10⁵–10⁶ a. It requires a sample of 100 μl 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%; we calibrate the ⁸¹Kr/Kr ratio of modern air measured using this method; and we show that the ⁸¹Kr/Kr ratios of samples extracted from air before and after the development of the nuclear industry are identical within the measurement error. Received 31 July 2003; accepted 29 September 2003; published 29 October 2003. Index Terms: 9820 General or Miscellaneous: Techniques applicable in three or more fields; 1035 Geochemistry: Geochronology; 1040 Geochemistry: Isotopic composition/chemistry; 1829 Hydrology: Groundwater hydrology. Read Full Article (file size: 136616 bytes) Cited by Citation: Du, X., R. Purtschert, K. Bailey, B. E. Lehmann, R. Lorenzo, Z.-T. Lu, P. Mueller, T. P. O'Connor, N. C. Sturchio, and L. Young (2003), A new method of measuring ⁸¹Kr and ⁸⁵Kr abundances in environmental samples, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(20), 2068, doi:10.1029/2003GL018293. Copyright 2003 by the American Geophysical Union.

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