| Abstract: | A new technique for labeling natural sand sized particles with a stable isotope tracer is described. The tracer is deposited on the sand grains as an insoluble oxide, and is not readily removed except under acid conditions. The labeled sand may therefore be used to study sediment transport phenomena in the natural environment. The labeled sand may be quantitatively measured in samples of natural sediment by neutron activation analysis. The whole sample is irradiated, then the tracer is removed and concentrated by a post-activation chemical procedure. A data handling technique apparently not used before in radio-tracer technology is introduced which permits quantitative measurement of the tracer even in the presence of other radioactive isotopes. A field experiment was conducted on Galveston Island to demonstrate the feasibility of the technique. Europium oxide was used as the label, and 4.6 kilograms of labeled sand were introduced into the swash zone of the beach. ... |
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