Radioactive Isotopes in Hydrosphere

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue of Water, “Radioactive Isotopes in Hydrosphere”, welcomes submissions from the authors of publications discussing the results of recent research into the occurrence of natural radioactive isotopes in the Earth’s hydrosphere. Findings concerning the hydrogeochemistry of radioactive isotopes are of particular importance when it comes to defining the possibilities of exploiting water resources. The presence of radioactive isotopes may lead to limiting or even preventing the use of water for human consumption. On the other hand, the occurrence of the same isotopes, e.g., ²²²Rn, enables us to use such waters as a medicinal agent in therapeutic treatments in many health resorts in Europe and in other continents. The presence of natural radioactive isotopes in the hydrosphere is related to the interaction of this sphere of the Earth with other geospheres—mainly the lithosphere, but also the atmosphere. Specifying the activity concentrations of particular radioactive isotopes in groundwater or surface water environments enables insight into numerous processes occurring in different geospheres of the Earth. At the same time, knowledge of the amount of natural radioactive isotopes dissolved in waters makes it possible to draw conclusions about the water’s origin—the mixing of its various components. Natural radioactive isotopes are perfect tracers of a variety of processes involving the mixing of groundwaters and surface waters as well as waters flowing in different circulation systems. The presence of natural radioactive isotopes and changes in their content makes it possible to differentiate precipitation waters of contemporary infiltration from paleoinfiltration waters, metamorphic waters, juvenile waters, or synsedimentation or relic waters. Isotopic tracers also enable us to define the extent to which waters are susceptible to pollution. They are also used as tracers of dynamic processes occurring in the lithosphere, such as earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. They also provide a possibility of distinguishing sources of water recharge to various surface and underground reservoirs. Finally, they enable modeling processes occurring throughout the hydrological cycle of the planet. All these issues, seen through the prism of gaining knowledge of the earthly hydrosphere itself and a possibility of characterizing various processes and phenomena occurring in the hydrosphere and its interactions with other geospheres, especially the lithosphere and the atmosphere, but also the biosphere, are of paramount importance to different uses of our planet’s water resources. All these aspects of the occurrence of natural radioactive isotopes in the hydrosphere are the subject of a current scientific debate, making “Radioactive Isotopes in Hydrosphere”, the Special Issue of Water journal, a timely contribution to the field.

Prof. Tadeusz A. Przylibski
Guest Editor

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