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| Titel |
Quantitative Assessment of Radon-222 Degassing Phenomenon from the Investigation of Groundwater/Surface water Interaction (GSI) processes in Shallow Turbulent Rivers in Campania region, Southern Italy. |
| VerfasserIn |
A. Cuomo, D. Guadagnolo, D. Guida, M. Guida, A. Paschke, M. Schubert, V. Siervo |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2012
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 14 (2012) |
| Datensatznummer |
250069403
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| Zusammenfassung |
| In the investigation of Groundwater/Surface water Interaction (GSI) processes in different
water bodies typologies, the use of Environmental Tracers, like Naturally Occurring
Radionuclides, have been proven to be an extremely reliable and powerful tool. In particular,
among them the (short-lived) radionuclide Radon-222 (referred to as Radon), occurring in the
gaseous phase in normal conditions of temperature and pressure, has the advantages to be
almost chemically inert, easily detectable on site and its physical signal is not disturbed by
any kind of anthropically produced “noise”. Therefore, differently from other tracers of
artificial nature, it can be safely and successfully employed especially in natural
environments, like Natural Parks and Wildlife Protected Areas, because it does not
contaminate the surrounding environments being a Naturally Occurring Radioactive
Material. Radon, produced in every mineral matrix through the spontaneous decay
of Radium, turns out to be rather soluble in water, even though depending on the
temperature of the water body, and, therefore, it occurs ubiquitously in all kinds of
natural waters. In particular, Radon activity concentrations values, measured in
groundwater, are typically some (from three to four) orders of magnitude higher than those
ones detected, instead, in surface waters. For such reasons Radon turns out to be a
remarkable tool for the Groundwater/Surface water Interaction (GSI) processes
and a good indicator for the localization and the semi-quantitative assessment of
groundwater discharges into different kinds of water bodies like lakes, rivers and
sea.
This work summarizes some outcomes from a series of experimental measurements
campaigns performed in relevant river basins of Campania region, southern Italy, where
interdisciplinary investigations about Groundwater-River Interactions have been carried on
using Radon as a Natural Tracer. The experimental measurement campaigns have been
performed using the Radon-in-Air analyzer, RAD7, together with the Radon-in-water
accessories, Radon Water Probe and RADH2O (DURRIDGE Co. Inc.), for continuous and
batch sampling measurements, respectively.
In the examined study cases among which a typical karst environment has also been
investigated, this methodology reveals to be a successful procedure for the localization of the
contributions of groundwater to the riverbed, in the case of shallow turbulent rivers, the
characterization of the recharge and discharge periods in a karst aquifer, the classification of
different typologies of karst springs there occurring and provide a first contribution to
surficial-groundwater seasonal hydrograph separation.
From the experimental data collected in the implementation of this approach to different
types of shallow turbulent rivers we are enabled to make a preliminary quantitative
assessment the Radon degassing phenomenon, so far investigated only for lakes and oceans.
The corresponding results are described following the Rosgen classification of the different
kinds of fluvial water bodies and, therefore, displayed according to their different turbulence
characteristics. |
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