59 @ Radiotracer and Sealed Source Applications in Sediment Transport Studies Studies Transport in Sediment Applications Source Sealed and Radiotracer Radiotracer and Sealed Source Applications in Sediment Transport Studies TRAINING COURSE SERIES TRAINING ISSN 1018–5518 VIENNA, 2014 TRAINING COURSE SERIES 59 RADIOTRACER AND SEALED SOURCE APPLICATIONS IN SEDIMENT TRANSPORT STUDIES The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency: AFGHANISTAN GHANA PAKISTAN ALBANIA GREECE PALAU ALGERIA GUATEMALA 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 BELARUS IRELAND 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 TURKEY DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC MAURITIUS UGANDA OF THE CONGO MEXICO UKRAINE DENMARK MONACO UNITED ARAB EMIRATES DOMINICA MONGOLIA UNITED KINGDOM OF DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MONTENEGRO GREAT BRITAIN AND ECUADOR MOROCCO EGYPT MOZAMBIQUE NORTHERN IRELAND EL SALVADOR MYANMAR UNITED REPUBLIC ERITREA NAMIBIA OF TANZANIA ESTONIA NEPAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ETHIOPIA NETHERLANDS URUGUAY FIJI NEW ZEALAND UZBEKISTAN FINLAND NICARAGUA VENEZUELA FRANCE NIGER VIET NAM GABON NIGERIA YEMEN GEORGIA NORWAY ZAMBIA GERMANY 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 TRAINING COURSE SERIES NO. 59 RADIOTRACER AND SEALED SOURCE APPLICATIONS IN SEDIMENT TRANSPORT STUDIES INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY VIENNA, 2014 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: sales.publications@iaea.org http://www.iaea.org/books For further information on this publication, please contact: Radioisotope Products and Radiation Technology Section International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna International Centre PO Box 100 1400 Vienna, Austria Email: Official.Mail@iaea.org © IAEA, 2014 Printed by the IAEA in Austria November 2014 IAEA Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Radiotracer and sealed source applications in sediment transport studies. — Vienna : International Atomic Energy Agency, 2014. p. ; 30 cm. — (IAEA Training course series, ISSN 1018–5518 ; no. 59) IAEA–TCS–59 Includes bibliographical references. 1. Coastal engineering — Environmental aspects. 2. Sediment transport — Research. 3. Radioactive tracers. I. International Atomic Energy Agency. II. Series. IAEAL 14–00937 FOREWORD The investigation of sediment transport in seas and rivers is crucial for civil engineering and littoral protection and management. Coastlines and seabeds are dynamic regions, with sediments undergoing periods of erosion, transport, sedimentation and consolidation. The main causes for erosion in beaches include storms and human actions such as the construction of seawalls, jetties and the dredging of stream mouths. Each of these human actions disrupts the natural flow of sand. Current policies and practices are accelerating the beach erosion process. However, there are viable options available to mitigate this damage and to provide for sustainable coastlines. Radioactive methods can help in investigating sediment dynamics, providing important parameters for better designing, maintaining and optimizing civil engineering structures. Radioisotopes as tracers and sealed sources have been useful and often irreplaceable tools for sediment transport studies. Radioactive tracers are the only unequivocal method of direct real time assessment of sediment transport pathways. Radiotracers are more sensitive and provide more accurate parameters than conventional tracers. In recent decades, many radiotracer studies for the investigation of sediment transport in natural systems have been conducted worldwide, and various techniques for tracing and monitoring sediment have been developed by individual tracer groups. In addition to radiotracers, sealed source techniques can provide information on the density of sediments deposited in a channel of navigation as well as on the concentration of sediments circulating in suspension. There are some typical problems in which radiotracer and sealed source techniques can make a contribution. Littoral zones in many countries are subjected to erosion, and the shorelines undergo long term retreat, which often leads to beach loss. In addition, improper selection of dumping sites for dredging operations at harbours may cause the return of the dumped material to the dredged channel. The environmental, economic and social benefits from the application of radiotracer and sealed source techniques can be enormous. However, the developed radioisotope techniques and methods for sediment tracing and monitoring have not yet been compiled as a technical document, which is essential for the preservation of the knowledge and transfer of the technology to developing countries. This training course material aims to compile all important theoretical and practical aspects of tracer and sealed source techniques for investigating bedload and suspended sediment transports. This publication will help the radiotracer groups in States to promote and apply radioisotope technologies for coastal engineering protection to better serve the environmental sector. It will also be useful reference material for engineers and managers of environmental and coastal engineering sectors to understand the potential of radioisotope techniques for investigating complex littoral sites and structures. The training course material is based on lecture notes and practical works delivered by many experts in IAEA supported activities. Lectures and case studies were reviewed by a number of specialists in this field. The IAEA wishes to thank all the specialists for their valuable contributions. The IAEA officer responsible for this publication was P. Brisset of the Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences. 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 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................. 1 1.2. THE IMPORTANCE OF RADIOTRACER AND SEALED SOURCE TECHNIQUES FOR SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT ...................................... 3 2. ABOUT SEDIMENT TRANSPORT ............................................................................