Hydrology and Land Surface Studies

A new method of measuring 81Kr and 85Kr abundances in environmental samples

  1. X. Du1,2,
  2. R. Purtschert3,
  3. K. Bailey1,
  4. B. E. Lehmann3,
  5. R. Lorenzo3,
  6. Z.-T. Lu1,
  7. P. Mueller1,
  8. T. P. O'Connor1,
  9. N. C. Sturchio4,
  10. L. Young5

Article first published online: 29 OCT 2003

DOI: 10.1029/2003GL018293

Issue

Geophysical Research Letters

Geophysical Research Letters

Additional Information

How to Cite

Du, X., R. Purtschert, K. Bailey, B. E. Lehmann, R. Lorenzo, Z.-T. Lu, P. Mueller, T. P. O'Connor, N. C. Sturchio, and L. Young (2003), A new method of measuring 81Kr and 85Kr abundances in environmental samples, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30, 2068, doi:10.1029/2003GL018293, 20.

Author Information

  1. 1

    Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, USA

  2. 2

    Physics Department, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA

  3. 3

    Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland

  4. 4

    Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, USA

  5. 5

    Chemistry Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, USA

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 29 OCT 2003
  2. Article first published online: 29 OCT 2003
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 29 SEP 2003
  4. Manuscript Revised: 16 SEP 2003
  5. Manuscript Received: 31 JUL 2003

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[1] We demonstrate a new method for determining the 81Kr/Kr ratio in environmental samples based upon two measurements: the 85Kr/81Kr ratio measured by Atom Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA) and the 85Kr/Kr ratio measured by Low-Level Counting (LLC). This method can be used to determine the mean residence time of groundwater in the range of 105–106 a. It requires a sample of 100 μl STP of Kr extracted from approximately two tons of water. With modern atmospheric Kr samples, we demonstrate that the ratios measured by ATTA and LLC are directly proportional to each other within the measurement error of ±10%; we calibrate the 81Kr/Kr ratio of modern air measured using this method; and we show that the 81Kr/Kr ratios of samples extracted from air before and after the development of the nuclear industry are identical within the measurement error.

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