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DATING RECENT RESERVOIR SEDIMENTS 1
Author(s) -
Jerry C. Ritchie,
J. Roger McHenry,
Angela C. Gill
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1973.18.2.0254
Subject(s) - sedimentation , sediment , erosion , environmental science , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , radioactive fallout , geomorphology , chemistry , radiochemistry , geotechnical engineering
Radioactive fallout 137 Cs can be used to date sediment deposited in lakes and reservoirs since 1959. Within small regional watersheds, fallout 137 Cs is assumed to be uniformly distributed on the surface soil and is tightly adsorbed to surface soil particles. Some of these soil particles naturally labeled with 137 Cs then move through the sedimentation cycle and can be used to date sediment profiles. Two distinct periods of erosion and sedimentation (1959–1960 and 1963–1964) can be associated with periods of maximum atmospheric fallout. Data from other reservoirs illustrate the utility of this method.