Measurement of the Long-lived Radionuclide 81Kr in Pre-nuclear and Present-day Atmospheric Krypton

P. Collon, W. Kutschera*, D. Cole, B. Davids, M. Fauerbach, R. Harkewicz, D. J. Morrissey, B. M. Sherrill, M. Steiner, R. C. Pardo, M. Paul

*Corresponding author for this work

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13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Isotopic ratios of 81Kr/Kr in the range of 10−13 were measured with accelerator mass spectrometry in pre-nuclear atmospheric krypton and in modern krypton. Within the experimental uncertainty (±30%) the 81Kr/Kr ratios were found to be the same. This establishes 81Kr (t1/2 = 230000 years) as a long-lived cosmogenic radionuclide essentially unaffected by anthropogenic contributions, and therefore well suited for dating applications. The anthropogenic “cleanliness” of 81Kr is in accord with estimates for contributions from various human activities.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)13-20
Number of pages8
JournalRadiochimica Acta
Volume85
Issue number1-2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1999

Keywords

  • Kr
  • Accelerator mass spectrometry
  • Cosmogenic radionuclide
  • Groundwater dating

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