Spatial Footprint of Uranium Above Water Table
Mentor 1
Charles Paradis
Start Date
28-4-2023 12:00 AM
Description
In Riverton, Wyoming, traces of uranium are found in groundwater after being leached from the surface during flooding events near the Little Wind River. The objective of this experiment is to investigate and locate where most uranium resides in fourteen different locations and depths in order to understand how it mobilizes. Since uranium in water can cause long-term health issues when consumed, identifying the origin and how it mobilizes can help prevent uranium from entering our waters. In order to find how uranium mobilizes within soil, iodide with water was used to trace the movement of the infiltrated water. The method used to calculate the amount of iodide and uranium is called the standard deionized water extraction. In this method, deionized water is used to leach off any material or substance such as iodide from the soil. After adding deionized water with the soil, they are later stirred and centrifuged for hours, where certain particles are now in the water. The sample is later decanted and filtered for testing, where the data is graphed on a chart displaying where iodide and uranium are found within varying depths and locations of soil. The expected result is to find high levels of iodide in areas it originally seeped through with water while high levels of uranium would be found away from the location from where it first flowed due to the mobilization of groundwater. The findings will help understand more on how uranium mobilizes through soil and help better predict where uranium might be if ever leached from the sediments above the water table. The use of standard deionized water method can apply to other substances and can identify the quantity of the element.
Spatial Footprint of Uranium Above Water Table
In Riverton, Wyoming, traces of uranium are found in groundwater after being leached from the surface during flooding events near the Little Wind River. The objective of this experiment is to investigate and locate where most uranium resides in fourteen different locations and depths in order to understand how it mobilizes. Since uranium in water can cause long-term health issues when consumed, identifying the origin and how it mobilizes can help prevent uranium from entering our waters. In order to find how uranium mobilizes within soil, iodide with water was used to trace the movement of the infiltrated water. The method used to calculate the amount of iodide and uranium is called the standard deionized water extraction. In this method, deionized water is used to leach off any material or substance such as iodide from the soil. After adding deionized water with the soil, they are later stirred and centrifuged for hours, where certain particles are now in the water. The sample is later decanted and filtered for testing, where the data is graphed on a chart displaying where iodide and uranium are found within varying depths and locations of soil. The expected result is to find high levels of iodide in areas it originally seeped through with water while high levels of uranium would be found away from the location from where it first flowed due to the mobilization of groundwater. The findings will help understand more on how uranium mobilizes through soil and help better predict where uranium might be if ever leached from the sediments above the water table. The use of standard deionized water method can apply to other substances and can identify the quantity of the element.
