{"id":{"repo_id":"ottawa-retro","oai_identifier":"oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/44842"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/ottawa-retro/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/44842","repository":{"repo_id":"ottawa-retro","name":"University of Ottawa","base_url":"https://ruor.uottawa.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The Use of Radionuclides to Identify Vulnerable Fractured and Karst Bedrock Aquifers in Eastern Ontario","abstract":"Domestic water wells in Eastern Ontario were identified in potentially vulnerable fractured and karst bedrock aquifers using geologic and geochemical data. A novel methodology is presented that evaluates ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pbₑₓ as local indicators of groundwater vulnerability. The method is designed to determine the vulnerability of a specific well. Suspended sediment samples and well-bottom sediment samples were collected from both potentially vulnerable and non-vulnerable wells. Surface soil samples were also collected from West Rural Ottawa and the Township of Alfred & Plantagenet in Ontario, Canada. Gamma spectroscopy was used to analyze the samples and quantify the presence of the radionuclides in cps and cps/g. The spectral data indicate no significant difference in the activities of ²¹⁰Pbₑₓ among samples, but a significant difference in the activities of ¹³⁷Cs was observed between surface soil samples and well-bottom sediment samples collected from vulnerable wells. The data suggest that ²¹⁰Pbₑₓ does not act as a good indicator of vulnerable aquifers because of its geogenic origin. The anthropogenic origin of ¹³⁷Cs precludes this issue, and while ¹³⁷Cs was detected in measurable quantities at the surface, its use as an indicator of vulnerable aquifers is limited by hydrologic and geologic controls that prevent infiltration in vulnerable terrains.","abstract_html":"Domestic water wells in Eastern Ontario were identified in potentially vulnerable fractured and karst bedrock aquifers using geologic and geochemical data. A novel methodology is presented that evaluates ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pbₑₓ as local indicators of groundwater vulnerability. The method is designed to determine the vulnerability of a specific well. Suspended sediment samples and well-bottom sediment samples were collected from both potentially vulnerable and non-vulnerable wells. Surface soil samples were also collected from West Rural Ottawa and the Township of Alfred & Plantagenet in Ontario, Canada. Gamma spectroscopy was used to analyze the samples and quantify the presence of the radionuclides in cps and cps/g. The spectral data indicate no significant difference in the activities of ²¹⁰Pbₑₓ among samples, but a significant difference in the activities of ¹³⁷Cs was observed between surface soil samples and well-bottom sediment samples collected from vulnerable wells. The data suggest that ²¹⁰Pbₑₓ does not act as a good indicator of vulnerable aquifers because of its geogenic origin. The anthropogenic origin of ¹³⁷Cs precludes this issue, and while ¹³⁷Cs was detected in measurable quantities at the surface, its use as an indicator of vulnerable aquifers is limited by hydrologic and geologic controls that prevent infiltration in vulnerable terrains.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Harrison, Alex"],"institution":"Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Al, Tom"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-04-24T20:04:06Z","date_published":"2023-04-24T20:04:06Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:39:40Z","subjects":["Groundwater","Aquifer Vulnerability","Radionuclides","Geochemistry"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-29048"],"render_values":[{"text":"http://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-29048","href":"http://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-29048","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10393/44842","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Al, Tom"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Harrison, Alex"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2023-04-24T20:04:06Z","2023-04-24"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Groundwater","Aquifer Vulnerability","Radionuclides","Geochemistry"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10393/44842","http://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-29048"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Domestic water wells in Eastern Ontario were identified in potentially vulnerable fractured and karst bedrock aquifers using geologic and geochemical data. A novel methodology is presented that evaluates ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pbₑₓ as local indicators of groundwater vulnerability. The method is designed to determine the vulnerability of a specific well. Suspended sediment samples and well-bottom sediment samples were collected from both potentially vulnerable and non-vulnerable wells. Surface soil samples were also collected from West Rural Ottawa and the Township of Alfred & Plantagenet in Ontario, Canada. Gamma spectroscopy was used to analyze the samples and quantify the presence of the radionuclides in cps and cps/g. The spectral data indicate no significant difference in the activities of ²¹⁰Pbₑₓ among samples, but a significant difference in the activities of ¹³⁷Cs was observed between surface soil samples and well-bottom sediment samples collected from vulnerable wells. The data suggest that ²¹⁰Pbₑₓ does not act as a good indicator of vulnerable aquifers because of its geogenic origin. The anthropogenic origin of ¹³⁷Cs precludes this issue, and while ¹³⁷Cs was detected in measurable quantities at the surface, its use as an indicator of vulnerable aquifers is limited by hydrologic and geologic controls that prevent infiltration in vulnerable terrains."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Use of Radionuclides to Identify Vulnerable Fractured and Karst Bedrock Aquifers in Eastern Ontario"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Al, Tom"],"dc:creator":["Harrison, Alex"],"dc:date":["2023-04-24T20:04:06Z","2023-04-24"],"dc:description":["Domestic water wells in Eastern Ontario were identified in potentially vulnerable fractured and karst bedrock aquifers using geologic and geochemical data. A novel methodology is presented that evaluates ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pbₑₓ as local indicators of groundwater vulnerability. The method is designed to determine the vulnerability of a specific well. Suspended sediment samples and well-bottom sediment samples were collected from both potentially vulnerable and non-vulnerable wells. Surface soil samples were also collected from West Rural Ottawa and the Township of Alfred & Plantagenet in Ontario, Canada. Gamma spectroscopy was used to analyze the samples and quantify the presence of the radionuclides in cps and cps/g. The spectral data indicate no significant difference in the activities of ²¹⁰Pbₑₓ among samples, but a significant difference in the activities of ¹³⁷Cs was observed between surface soil samples and well-bottom sediment samples collected from vulnerable wells. The data suggest that ²¹⁰Pbₑₓ does not act as a good indicator of vulnerable aquifers because of its geogenic origin. The anthropogenic origin of ¹³⁷Cs precludes this issue, and while ¹³⁷Cs was detected in measurable quantities at the surface, its use as an indicator of vulnerable aquifers is limited by hydrologic and geologic controls that prevent infiltration in vulnerable terrains."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["http://hdl.handle.net/10393/44842","http://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-29048"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa"],"dc:subject":["Groundwater","Aquifer Vulnerability","Radionuclides","Geochemistry"],"dc:title":["The Use of Radionuclides to Identify Vulnerable Fractured and Karst Bedrock Aquifers in Eastern Ontario"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:39:40Z"}