Carbonate weathering, phosphate fertilizer, and hydrologic controls on dissolved uranium in rivers in the US Corn Belt: Disentangling seasonal geogenic- and fertilizer-derived sources.

Soil and bedrock weathering and phosphate (P) fertilizers may both contribute to the uranium (U) load of rivers in agricultural regions, but controls over their relative influence are not well known. This study investigates the U sources to rivers in Ohio, United States, part of the Eastern Corn Belt in the Mississippi River watershed. We present a regional picture of seasonal U sources to rivers based on four analyses: 1) a spatial analysis of legacy soil and water data, 2) new measurements of U and carbonate weathering products from rivers at 50 locations across the state collected seasonally over two years, 3) a weekly time series with additional U/U (n = 5) and Sr/Sr (n = 5) measurements from an agricultural river, and 4) a mass-balance approach to U addition to the landscape based on reported P fertilizer use.

Enhanced trace element mobilization by Earth's ice sheets.

Trace elements sustain biological productivity, yet the significance of trace element mobilization and export in subglacial runoff from ice sheets is poorly constrained at present. Here, we present size-fractionated (0.02, 0.

Uranium in Ohio, USA Surface Waters: Implications for a Fertilizer Source in Waters Draining Agricultural lands.

Synthetic fertilizer is a potential source of uranium to natural waters, yet evidence is lacking. We analyzed dissolved uranium concentrations in lakes, reservoirs, and rivers in Ohio, USA during the summer of 2017. All water bodies drain areas of extensive agriculture where phosphate-rich fertilizer is applied.

Trace metal and major ion inputs into the Olentangy River from an urban storm sewer.

Trace metal clean techniques were used to sample and analyze the input of dissolved trace metals, major ions, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from a storm sewer along an urban highway in Columbus, OH. The outfall, draining a 3.6 ha sewershed with 100% impermeable surface area, discharges into the Olentangy River.