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Soil Lysimeter Excavation for Coupled Hydrological, Geochemical, and Microbiological Investigations
Published on: September 11, 2016
Biogeochemical signatures in the lichen Hypogymnia physodes in the mid Urals
O W Purvis1, J Longden, G Shaw
1Department of Botany, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK. w.purvis@nhm.ac.uk
Abstract:
Multi-element content and uranium (U) isotopes were investigated in the lichen Hypogymnia physodes (native and transplants) sampled across a 60-km transect, centred on Karabash smelter town, from Turgoyak Lake (SW) to Kyshtym (NE) to investigate the origin of U. Kyshtym was the site of a major nuclear accident in 1957. (234)U/(238)U activity ratios in native thalli sampled during July 2001 were within the natural isotopic ratio in minerals. Uranium/thorium (U/Th) ratios were higher in native thalli towards the NE (average 0.73) than those in the SW (average 0.57). Element signatures in native thalli and transplants suggest U was derived from fossil fuel combustion from Karabash and sources lying further to the east. Systematic and significant U enrichment indicative of a nuclear fuel cycle source was not detected in any sample. Element signatures in epiphytic lichen transplants and native thalli provide a powerful method to evaluate U deposition.
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