TY - JOUR
T1 - Uranium isotopes in surface waters from southern Africa
AU - Kronfeld, J.
AU - Vogel, J. C.
PY - 1991/7
Y1 - 1991/7
N2 - The 234U 238U activity ratio in river water in southern Africa is generally higher than that reported for rivers in other regions of the world. This is interpreted as due to the prevailing environmental conditions: in this warm dry region mechanical weathering predominates over chemical weathering, causing the isotope activity ratio of leached uranium to be, on average, 2.03 ± 0.42 as compared to a ratio of 1.20 for river water in the more humid tropical and temperate regions. The isotopic composition of leachable uranium from river sediment is similar to that in the water. Rivers draining the Witwatersrand gold and uranium mining area clearly show pollution inputs characterised by high uranium content and low activity ratios.
AB - The 234U 238U activity ratio in river water in southern Africa is generally higher than that reported for rivers in other regions of the world. This is interpreted as due to the prevailing environmental conditions: in this warm dry region mechanical weathering predominates over chemical weathering, causing the isotope activity ratio of leached uranium to be, on average, 2.03 ± 0.42 as compared to a ratio of 1.20 for river water in the more humid tropical and temperate regions. The isotopic composition of leachable uranium from river sediment is similar to that in the water. Rivers draining the Witwatersrand gold and uranium mining area clearly show pollution inputs characterised by high uranium content and low activity ratios.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0026286307&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/0012-821X(91)90130-A
DO - 10.1016/0012-821X(91)90130-A
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AN - SCOPUS:0026286307
SN - 0012-821X
VL - 105
SP - 191
EP - 195
JO - Earth and Planetary Science Letters
JF - Earth and Planetary Science Letters
IS - 1-3
ER -