Radium isotopes and radon-222 as tracers of sediment-water interaction in Arctic coastal and lacustrine environments

Arctic marine and lacustrine systems are experiencing rapid warming due to climate change. These changes are especially important at the interface between sediments and surface waters because they are hotspots for biogeochemical transformations such as redox reactions, nutrient consumption and regeneration, organic matter leaching and degradation, and mineral weathering. Radium isotopes (²²³Ra, ²²⁴Ra, ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ra) and radon-222, naturally occurring radioactive isotopes produced in sediments, are well-suited as tracers of nutrients, trace metals, and organic matter cycling processes at the sediment-water interface. In this thesis, I have applied radon-222 and the quartet of radium isotopes to study fundamental processes in subarctic lakes and on the Arctic continental shelf. First, radon-222 is used to quantify groundwater discharge into a shallow, tundra lake on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in Alaska in summer of 2017.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master

Department dc:contributor.department

Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Dabrowski, Jessica Stephanie.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Matthew A, Charette.

• Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering.
• Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/128993

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/128993