Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2015, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (4): 77-82.doi: 10.11978/j.issn.1009-5470.2015.04.011CSTR: 32234.14.j.issn.1009-5470.2015.04.011

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Radionuclides in surface sediments from the Huangmaohai Estuary-Guanghai Bay and its adjacent sea area of the South China Sea

ZHAO Feng, WU Mei-gui, ZHOU Peng, LI Dong-mei, ZHAO Li, ZHENG Yuan-lai, CAI Wei-xu, FANG Hong-da, HUANG Chu-guang   

  1. South China Sea Environmental Monitoring Center, State Oceanic Administration, Guangzhou 510300, China
  • Received:2014-08-28 Online:2015-08-10 Published:2015-08-21

Abstract:

Radionuclides in the surface sediments from Huangmaohai Esturary-Guanghai Bay and its adjacent sea area of the South China Sea were measured using HPGe-γ spectroscopy. The specific activities of 238U, 226Ra, 210Pb, 228Th, 228Ra, 40K, and 137Cs were 66.50~98.80, 32~48.70, 96.20~174.70, 57.70~101.00, 49.70~64.80, 505~644, and 0.72~2.15 Bq·kgDW-1, with the mean values of 77.40, 36.60, 123.80, 64.50, 58.10, 571, and 1.52 Bq·kgDW-1, respectively. The ratios of 226Ra/238U, 210Pb/226Ra and 228Th/228Ra were 0.42~0.50, 2.80~4.09 and 1.06~1.66, with the average values of 0.47, 3.38 and 1.20, respectively. It was shown that the uranium and thorium decay series were in disequilibrium in the surface sediments, where 210Pb relative of 226Ra and 228Ra relative of 228Ra were excess while 226Ra relative of 238U was deficient. The distances from the sampling site to the coast were not interrelated with γ radionuclides contents and grain-size characteristics of the surface sediments.

Key words: Radioactive nuclide, &#x003b3, spectroscopy, Surface sediment, Huangmaohai Estuary, Guanghai Bay