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Tom Hinton,
Ph.D
Senior Research Scientist
University
of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
Aiken, SC 29802
(803) 725-7454;
Research
Theme: Radioactive Contaminants
in Aquatic Ecosystems (Aqu)
Dr. Hinton's research on aquatic systems emphasizes
the environmental transport of radioactive contaminants,
with the goal of better understanding their dynamics
among system components and improving predictions
of their long-term fate.
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Figure
2. 133Cs was added as an acute
spike to the water column of Pond 4, an 11.4-ha
reservoir on the U. S. Department of Energy's
Savannah River Site.
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Because most previous
studies of 137Cs in southeastern reservoirs
had occurred > 5 years after its initial entry
into the water column, Dr. Hinton led a complex whole-lake
experiment using non-radioactive stable cesium as
a tracer (Fig. 2) to examine the initial behavior
of Cs, and to compare results from Southeastern lakes
in the United States to European lakes contaminated
with Chernobyl fallout. By sampling water, sediments,
fish, invertebrates and macrophytes (Fig. 2), Dr.
Hinton, with collaborators from Colorado State University
(Drs. John Pinder and Ward Whicker), has been able
to determine the short-term dynamics of Cs, and has
documented the importance of uptake by aquatic plants
(a component not accounted for in the European research).
Relevant works
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