Sign on

SAO/NASA ADS Physics Abstract Service

· Find Similar Abstracts (with default settings below)
· Reads History
·
· Translate This Page
Title:
Spatial Distributions of Iodine-131 and the Geochemical "Fingerprint" from the World Trade Center Terrorist Attack in New York Harbor Sediments
Authors:
Oktay, S. D.; Smith, J. P.; Brabander, D. J.; Kada, J.; Olsen, C. R.
Affiliation:
AA(Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sciences Dept., University of Massachusetts Boston 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125 United States ), AB(Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sciences Dept., University of Massachusetts Boston 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125 United States ), AC(Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sciences Dept., University of Massachusetts Boston 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125 United States ), AD(Department of Energy-Environmental Measurements Laboratory, 201 Varick St. 5th floor, New York, NY 10014 United States ), AE(Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sciences Dept., University of Massachusetts Boston 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125 United States )
Publication:
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2002, abstract #OS22B-0280
Publication Date:
12/2002
Origin:
AGU
Keywords:
4235 Estuarine processes, 4808 Chemical tracers, 4825 Geochemistry, 4860 Radioactivity and radioisotopes, 4863 Sedimentation
Bibliographic Code:
2002AGUFMOS22B0280O

Abstract

The September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City introduced large amounts of ash and debris over an extensive area including New York Harbor (NYH) and the Lower Hudson Estuary. Previous results have identified a textural and elemental "fingerprint" for this ash/debris that can be seen as a quantifiable event horizon in NYH surface sediments. In addition, the short-lived radioisotope, I-131 (half-life, 8.04 days), was unexpectedly identified in the surface sediments, which corroborated that this sediment was recently deposited and anthropogenically influenced. On July 24-25, 2002, additional sediment cores were collected in the sites occupied in 2001 and in various locations throughout NYH (on both the Manhattan and New Jersey sides of the Hudson river) in order to determine the spatial extent of both the WTC "fingerprint" and the I-131 signal. Gamma spectrometric measurements of I-131 in surface sediments were used to determine its spatial distribution in NYH sediments and its potential use as an indicator of rapid sedimentary processes (days to weeks) initiated by urban input. Potential sources for the I-131 were evaluated, with initial evidence pointing to traces of human waste discharge related to medical treatments as the most likely source. The short-lived radionuclide, Be-7 (half-life, 53.12 days), and textural and elemental characterizations originally identified in the earlier research were examined in order to document the spatial distribution of the geochemical WTC "fingerprint" and investigate how short-to-medium term sediment dynamics (supply, deposition, re-suspension, and net accumulation) in New York Harbor may affect the spatial distribution and preservation of a sedimentological record associated with this event. This research should help delineate the geographical extent of the debris created from the WTC catastrophe and may predict where urban inputs of material such as I-131 can accumulate in NYH.
Bibtex entry for this abstract   Preferred format for this abstract (see Preferences)
  New!

Find Similar Abstracts:

Use: Authors
Title
Keywords (in text query field)
Abstract Text
Return: Query Results Return    items starting with number
Query Form
Database: Astronomy
Physics
arXiv e-prints