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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.