²¹⁰Po in Сrimean salt lakes.

Area of Science:

• Radioecology
• Environmental Chemistry
• Aquatic Ecosystems

Background:

• Natural radionuclide ²¹⁰Po behavior in hypersaline aquatic ecosystems is poorly understood.
• Crimean salt lakes represent unique, understudied environments for radioecological assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the radioecology of ²¹⁰Po in Crimean salt lakes.
• To determine ²¹⁰Po behavior and accumulation in lake ecosystems.
• To calculate radiation doses to hydrobionts from absorbed ²¹⁰Po.

Main Methods:

• Radioecological monitoring of ²¹⁰Po in water, suspended matter, sediments, and biota.
• Radiochemical processing and alpha spectroscopy for concentration measurements.
• Calculation of Concentration Ratios (CR) and absorbed doses for hydrobionts.

Main Results:

• ²¹⁰Po concentrations in lake waters were significantly higher than in the Black Sea, particularly in oil-producing regions.
• ²¹⁰Po activity in bottom sediments was comparable to the Black Sea coastal zone.
• High ²¹⁰Po accumulation observed in adult Artemia spp. (CR up to 10⁵), with lower accumulation in cysts.
• A decrease in ²¹⁰Po CR for suspended matter correlated with increasing water salinity.

Conclusions:

• Crimean salt lakes exhibit distinct ²¹⁰Po biogeochemical behavior influenced by salinity.
• Adult Artemia spp. are significant accumulators of ²¹⁰Po, though absorbed doses are within safe limits.
• This study provides crucial radioecological data for hypersaline and understudied aquatic environments.