Sinking of particulates 234Thxs, 7Be and 210Pbxs in the Changjiang estuary, China

The time scale of transport and reaction processes in the ocean can be evaluated using natural radionuclides of different half-lives. In the present study, we evaluated the residence times of particulate reactive radionuclides ⁷Be, ²¹⁰Pb_xs and ²³⁴Th in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) estuary, which is a high turbidity estuary, in June, 2006. The residence times of particulate ⁷Be, ²³⁴Th_xs and ²¹⁰Pb_xs in the Changjiang estuary were calculated to be 0.7–20.4, 0.18–4.1 and 0.6–89.8 d, respectively. The obtained residence times of those nuclides are comparable with those of other estuaries and bays. For ²³⁴Th_xs and ⁷Be, the residence times decreased with increasing concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM); however, those of ²¹⁰Pb_xs increased. Moreover, scavenging residence times of ²³⁴Th and ⁷Be increased from coast to offshore, while those of ²¹⁰Pb_xs decreased.