WIT Press

Nitrification Processes In Groundwaters Evidenced By Modification On The U Contents And Activity Ratios

Price

Free (open access)

Volume

22

Pages

10

Published

1997

Size

1,069 kb

Paper DOI

10.2495/ECOSUD970201

Copyright

WIT Press

Author(s)

D.M. Bonotto

Abstract

Groundwaters from the Botucatu-Piramboia aquifer system located at the Parana sedimentary basin in Brazil and sampled at Ribeirao Preto city, Sao Paulo State, were chemically and isotopically analysed, with the aim of evaluating how uranium isotopes ^U and ^*U can be utilized to monitor the progress of nitrate, the main indicator of agrichemical pollution into an aquifer. Based on the isotope dilution analysis, the ^U/^U activity ratio and U content data in the groundwaters were utilized to deduce their proportions in a mixture, suggesting that the water not affected significantly by nitrification still dominates the exploitation system involving the studied wells. Introduction The n

Keywords