Uranium record from a 3 m snow pit at Dome Argus, East Antarctica.

Understanding the distribution and transport of Uranium is important because it can lead to both chemical and radiological toxicity. This study presents the Uranium concentrations time series from 1964 to 2009 obtained from a 3 m deep snow pit at Dome Argus, East Antarctic Plateau. The data shows th...

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Main Authors: Xiang Zou, Shugui Hou, Ke Liu, Jinhai Yu, Wangbin Zhang, Hongxi Pang, Rong Hua, Paul Mayewski
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2018-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6209333?pdf=render
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author Xiang Zou
Shugui Hou
Ke Liu
Jinhai Yu
Wangbin Zhang
Hongxi Pang
Rong Hua
Paul Mayewski
author_facet Xiang Zou
Shugui Hou
Ke Liu
Jinhai Yu
Wangbin Zhang
Hongxi Pang
Rong Hua
Paul Mayewski
author_sort Xiang Zou
collection DOAJ
description Understanding the distribution and transport of Uranium is important because it can lead to both chemical and radiological toxicity. This study presents the Uranium concentrations time series from 1964 to 2009 obtained from a 3 m deep snow pit at Dome Argus, East Antarctic Plateau. The data shows that Uranium concentrations vary from 0.0067 pg g-1 to 0.12 pg g-1, with a mean concentration of 0.044 pg g-1. Its mean concentration is 2-3 folds lower than at West Antarctica study sites, such as the Antarctic Peninsula (mean 0.12 pg g-1), IC-6 (Ice Core-6) (mean 0.11 pg g-1) and a suite of ice cores from the US ITASE traverse. Before the mid-1980s, the varieties of Uranium concentrations are relatively stable, with a very low mean concentration of 0.016 pg g-1and its main source is sea salt deposition, while a small number of anthropogenic sources are likely to be caused by Uranium mining operations in South Africa. A remarkable increase of Uranium concentrations has occurred since the mid-1980s (by a factor of ~ 9) compared with the amount before the mid-1980s. This increase coincides with the Uranium records at IC-6 and Antarctic Peninsula (DP-07-01) during the same period, and are mostly attributed to Uranium mining operations in Australia as a potential primary anthropogenic Uranium source. Our observations suggest that Uranium pollution in the atmosphere might have already become a global phenomenon.
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spelling doaj.art-0b1e3d4997204e1599fd68e190087bb52022-12-21T22:55:17ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032018-01-011310e020659810.1371/journal.pone.0206598Uranium record from a 3 m snow pit at Dome Argus, East Antarctica.Xiang ZouShugui HouKe LiuJinhai YuWangbin ZhangHongxi PangRong HuaPaul MayewskiUnderstanding the distribution and transport of Uranium is important because it can lead to both chemical and radiological toxicity. This study presents the Uranium concentrations time series from 1964 to 2009 obtained from a 3 m deep snow pit at Dome Argus, East Antarctic Plateau. The data shows that Uranium concentrations vary from 0.0067 pg g-1 to 0.12 pg g-1, with a mean concentration of 0.044 pg g-1. Its mean concentration is 2-3 folds lower than at West Antarctica study sites, such as the Antarctic Peninsula (mean 0.12 pg g-1), IC-6 (Ice Core-6) (mean 0.11 pg g-1) and a suite of ice cores from the US ITASE traverse. Before the mid-1980s, the varieties of Uranium concentrations are relatively stable, with a very low mean concentration of 0.016 pg g-1and its main source is sea salt deposition, while a small number of anthropogenic sources are likely to be caused by Uranium mining operations in South Africa. A remarkable increase of Uranium concentrations has occurred since the mid-1980s (by a factor of ~ 9) compared with the amount before the mid-1980s. This increase coincides with the Uranium records at IC-6 and Antarctic Peninsula (DP-07-01) during the same period, and are mostly attributed to Uranium mining operations in Australia as a potential primary anthropogenic Uranium source. Our observations suggest that Uranium pollution in the atmosphere might have already become a global phenomenon.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6209333?pdf=render
spellingShingle Xiang Zou
Shugui Hou
Ke Liu
Jinhai Yu
Wangbin Zhang
Hongxi Pang
Rong Hua
Paul Mayewski
Uranium record from a 3 m snow pit at Dome Argus, East Antarctica.
PLoS ONE
title Uranium record from a 3 m snow pit at Dome Argus, East Antarctica.
title_full Uranium record from a 3 m snow pit at Dome Argus, East Antarctica.
title_fullStr Uranium record from a 3 m snow pit at Dome Argus, East Antarctica.
title_full_unstemmed Uranium record from a 3 m snow pit at Dome Argus, East Antarctica.
title_short Uranium record from a 3 m snow pit at Dome Argus, East Antarctica.
title_sort uranium record from a 3 m snow pit at dome argus east antarctica
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6209333?pdf=render
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