Application of 239,240 Pu, 137Cs and heavy metals for dating of river sediments

Abstract

Abstract The periodical nature of overbank sediment accumulation makes their detailed dating much more difficult than dating sediments in water reservoirs. To improve the commonly used dating with 137Cs, we combined this method with Pu isotopes and heavy metals in order to date sediments of the Chechło River (southern Poland), which was polluted by a lead-zinc mine. We analyzed 137Cs, Pu isotopes and heavy metal concentrations in three profiles of overbank sediments and in two profiles of subsidence basins in the lower river reach. The results indicate a lower accuracy and higher uncertainty of the overbank than the dating of reservoir sediments. The application of plutonium isotopes provided very important information validating caesium peaks or providing the principal information regarding horizons dated with heavy metals. The obtained dates give the earliest possible age of particular horizons with the actual sediment deposition delayed by several to a dozen years. This investigation shows that using plutonium radioisotopes can be a useful tool for dating, particularly of the youngest overbank sediments where numerous sedimentation gaps cause uncertainties in the application of other methods, e.g. radiocaesium and heavy metals.