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United States tritium rainout and its hydrologie implications
Author(s) -
Stewart G. L.,
Farnsworth R. K.
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr004i002p00273
Subject(s) - tritium , environmental science , precipitation , latitude , hydrology (agriculture) , atmospheric sciences , meteorology , geology , geography , physics , nuclear physics , geotechnical engineering , geodesy
Tritium concentrations of precipitation, total rainout, and rainfall amounts for 1964 and 1965 are listed for 15 stations in the conterminous United States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico. These data show that the major increase in tritium rainout observed in 1963 was followed by a decline of about 27% in 1964 compared with 1963, and an additional decline of about 54% in 1965 compared with 1964. Rainout patterns are characterized by increases in tritium rainout with northern latitudes and with distance from the oceans. The total tritium rainout, being a function of both concentration and amount of precipitation, is more random than average tritium concentration. Seasonal, annual, and even ten‐year tritium pulses have provided a valuable tag for tracing water in many kinds of hydrological and meteorological investigations. The tritium data now available make it possible to estimate the tritium input to the hydrologic environment at any part of the United States.