Spatial distribution of 137Cs in surface soil under different land uses in Chao Phraya watershed: Potential used as sediment source tracing

Abstract

Sediment fingerprinting techniques involves the discrimination of sediment sources based on differences in source material properties and quantification of the relative contributions from these sources to sediment delivered downstream to the river catchments. Results of the previous study indicated that fallout radionuclides (FRNs); 137Cs and excess 210Pb (210Pbex) are the most suitable radionuclides to be used as sediments sources tracers. This study investigated the spatial distribution of 137Cs in soil under different land uses in Chao Phraya watershed; the most significant watershed in Thailand. Emphasis was placed on discriminating among potential sediment sources including the cultivated (upland crops), pasture field, uncultivated (swamp, forest, and grass field), and channel erosion (stream and river bank). One hundred and twenty four soil samples were collected from all sources and determining for 137Cs. The 137Cs mass activities in pasture areas varied from the limit of detection (LLD) to 1.22±0.05 with the average of 0.64±0.14 Bq kg-1. In cultivated areas the 137Cs mass activities varied from LLD to 1.41±0.04 with the average of 0.38±0.04 Bq kg-1. The 137Cs mass activities were higher in uncultivated areas varied from 0.12±0.03 to 1.73±0.05 with the average of 0.76±0.15 Bq kg-1. The 137Cs mass activities in channel bank varied from LLD to 1.16±0.04 with the average of 0.39±0.05 Bq kg-1.GIS and geospatial interpolations revealed pattern in the spatial concentrations of 137Cs and indicated important differences in its distributions showing the differences behaviour of 137Cs in different land uses.