IAEA TECDOC SERIES Use of Radiotracers to Study Surface Use of Radiotracers to Study Water Processes
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IAEA-TECDOC-1760 IAEA-TECDOC-1760 IAEA TECDOC SERIES Use of Radiotracers to Study Surface Water Processes Water Use of Radiotracers to Study Surface IAEA-TECDOC-1760 Use of Radiotracers to Study Surface Water Processes International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna ISBN 978–92–0–100415–4 ISSN 1011–4289 @ USE OF RADIOTRACERS TO STUDY SURFACE WATER PROCESSES The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency: AFGHANISTAN GREECE PAKISTAN ALBANIA GUATEMALA PALAU ALGERIA GUYANA PANAMA ANGOLA HAITI PAPUA NEW GUINEA ARGENTINA HOLY SEE PARAGUAY ARMENIA HONDURAS PERU AUSTRALIA HUNGARY PHILIPPINES AUSTRIA ICELAND POLAND AZERBAIJAN INDIA PORTUGAL BAHAMAS INDONESIA QATAR BAHRAIN IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA BANGLADESH IRAQ ROMANIA IRELAND BELARUS RUSSIAN FEDERATION BELGIUM ISRAEL RWANDA BELIZE ITALY SAN MARINO BENIN JAMAICA SAUDI ARABIA BOLIVIA JAPAN SENEGAL BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA JORDAN BOTSWANA KAZAKHSTAN SERBIA BRAZIL KENYA SEYCHELLES BRUNEI DARUSSALAM KOREA, REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE BULGARIA KUWAIT SINGAPORE BURKINA FASO KYRGYZSTAN SLOVAKIA BURUNDI LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC SLOVENIA CAMBODIA REPUBLIC SOUTH AFRICA CAMEROON LATVIA SPAIN CANADA LEBANON SRI LANKA CENTRAL AFRICAN LESOTHO SUDAN REPUBLIC LIBERIA SWAZILAND CHAD LIBYA SWEDEN CHILE LIECHTENSTEIN SWITZERLAND CHINA LITHUANIA SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC COLOMBIA LUXEMBOURG TAJIKISTAN CONGO MADAGASCAR THAILAND COSTA RICA MALAWI THE FORMER YUGOSLAV CÔTE D’IVOIRE MALAYSIA REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA CROATIA MALI TOGO CUBA MALTA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO CYPRUS MARSHALL ISLANDS TUNISIA CZECH REPUBLIC MAURITANIA, ISLAMIC TURKEY DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC REPUBLIC OF UGANDA OF THE CONGO MAURITIUS UKRAINE DENMARK MEXICO UNITED ARAB EMIRATES DOMINICA MONACO UNITED KINGDOM OF DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MONGOLIA GREAT BRITAIN AND ECUADOR MONTENEGRO EGYPT MOROCCO NORTHERN IRELAND EL SALVADOR MOZAMBIQUE UNITED REPUBLIC ERITREA MYANMAR OF TANZANIA ESTONIA NAMIBIA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ETHIOPIA NEPAL URUGUAY FIJI NETHERLANDS UZBEKISTAN FINLAND NEW ZEALAND VENEZUELA, BOLIVARIAN FRANCE NICARAGUA REPUBLIC OF GABON NIGER VIET NAM GEORGIA NIGERIA YEMEN GERMANY NORWAY ZAMBIA GHANA OMAN ZIMBABWE The Agency’s Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the IAEA held at United Nations Headquarters, New York; it entered into force on 29 July 1957. The Headquarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is “to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world’’. IAEA-TECDOC-1760 USE OF RADIOTRACERS TO STUDY SURFACE WATER PROCESSES INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY VIENNA, 2015 COPYRIGHT NOTICE All IAEA scientific and technical publications are protected by the terms of the Universal Copyright Convention as adopted in 1952 (Berne) and as revised in 1972 (Paris). The copyright has since been extended by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Geneva) to include electronic and virtual intellectual property. Permission to use whole or parts of texts contained in IAEA publications in printed or electronic form must be obtained and is usually subject to royalty agreements. Proposals for non-commercial reproductions and translations are welcomed and considered on a case-by-case basis. Enquiries should be addressed to the IAEA Publishing Section at: Marketing and Sales Unit, Publishing Section International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna International Centre PO Box 100 1400 Vienna, Austria fax: +43 1 2600 29302 tel.: +43 1 2600 22417 email: [email protected] http://www.iaea.org/books For further information on this publication, please contact: Terrestrial Environment Laboratory, Seibersdorf International Atomic Energy Agency 2444 Seibersdorf, Austria Email: [email protected] © IAEA, 2015 Printed by the IAEA in Austria March 2015 IAEA Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Use of radiotracers to study surface water processes. — Vienna : International Atomic Energy Agency, 2015. p. ; 30 cm. — (IAEA-TECDOC series, ISSN 1011–4289 ; no. 1760) ISBN 978–92–0–100415–4 Includes bibliographical references. 1. Radioactive tracers. 2. Radioisotopes in hydrology. 3. Radioactive tracers in water pollution research. I. International Atomic Energy Agency. II. Series. IAEAL 15–00956 FOREWORD Most of world’s population is directly affected by the available water resources and the means to supply them. All natural or anthropogenic processes that modify the water flux and quality have a direct impact on human lives. Radioactive tracers can be extremely useful in studying such processes, and thus help to investigate the common problems faced by many States and to find adequate solutions. Problems such as water pollution, erosion, river sedimentation, and the loss of storage capability of water reservoirs, thereby reducing fish stocks, can cause great damage and negatively affect the well-being of local populations. To address this, a consultants meeting on the use of radioactive tracers to study surface water processes was organized by the IAEA to support Member States in situations where the use of radioactive tracers is considered as a major tool for a complete understanding of the process. This publication represents a sound knowledge base for the conduct of radiotracer studies in the environment, with papers on radiotracer methodology, radiation protection and regulation, data analysis and modelling. Environmental case histories from five Member States — Australia, Brazil, France, the Republic of Korea and Sweden — provide information on conducting studies involving the use of radioactive tracers. These case histories are not meant as guidelines for preparing a field study but can rather serve as examples of the type, caution and extent of work involved in environmental studies using radiotracers. This publication can provide guidance for conducting potential future training events in the use of radioactive tracers in the environment and can serve as a key reference to all concerned directly or indirectly with surface water processes. The IAEA wishes to thank all the participants in the consultants meeting for their valuable contribution, in particular C.E. Hughes (Australia) and P. Brisset (France). The IAEA officer responsible for this publication was A. Ceccatelli of the IAEA Terrestrial Environment Laboratory. EDITORIAL NOTE This publication has been prepared from the original material as submitted by the contributors and has not been edited by the editorial staff of the IAEA. The views expressed remain the responsibility of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of the IAEA or its Member States. Neither the IAEA nor its Member States assume any responsibility for consequences which may arise from the use of this publication. This publication does not address questions of responsibility, legal or otherwise, for acts or omissions on the part of any person. The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA. The IAEA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third party Internet web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. CONTENTS SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................... 1 PAPERS ON SURFACE WATER PROCESSES STUDY USING RADIOACTIVE TRACERS USE OF RADIOTRACERS TO STUDY SURFACE WATER PROCESSES .............................. 1 PAPERS ON SURFACE WATER PROCESSES STUDY USING RADIOACTIVE TRACERS .................................................................................................................... 1 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background and Scope .................................................................................................. 1 1.2. Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.3. Structure of the publication ............................................................................................ 2 PAPERS ON SURFACE WATER PROCESSES STUDY USING RADIOACTIVE TRACERS .................................................................................................................... 4 ARTIFICIAL RADIOTRACER APPLICATIONS IN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS .......... 5 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 5 2. MATHEMATICAL MODELLING ............................................................................... 6 3. CHALLENGES TO THE USE OF RADIOTRACERS IN THE ENVIRONMENT ....... 7 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 9 RADIOTRACER METHODOLOGY ................................................................................... 13 1. PRINCIPLES OF TRACER STUDY DESIGN ..........................................................