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Land Surface Erosion and Rainfall as Sources of Strontium‐90 in Streams
Author(s) -
Menzel Ronald G.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1974.00472425000300030007x
Subject(s) - streams , surface runoff , hydrology (agriculture) , erosion , environmental science , drainage basin , strontium , surface water , structural basin , land use , geology , geography , geomorphology , environmental engineering , ecology , computer network , physics , geotechnical engineering , cartography , computer science , nuclear physics , biology
Abstract Strontium‐90 concentrations in streams from 1958 to 1967 reflected the changing concentrations in rainfall and accumulation on the land surface. Correlation analysis of data from nationwide sampling networks shows that the 90 Sr concentration in streams was accounted for, on the average, by 1.7% of the rainout 2 months earlier, and annual erosion of 0.58% of the accumulated 90 Sr on the land surface. Direct runoff of 90 Sr in preceding rainfall was highest, 2.0 to 2.2%, in the north central and eastern United States, ranging down to no measurable direct runoff in the southwestern United States. Annual erosion of 90 Sr from the land surface ranged from 0.75% in the Ohio River Basin to 0.17% in the Missouri River Basin. If one allows for differences in time and area of application, these results for land surface erosion indicate the potential movement of persistent, strongly adsorbed pesticides from large land areas.