Use of Ra-223 and Ra-224 as chronometers to estimate the residence time of Amazon waters on the Brazilian continental shelf

When rivers mix into the ocean, radium isotopes are released into the dissolved phase allowing us to apply these isotopes as powerful tracers of river plumes spreading into the ocean. We report Ra-223 and Ra-224 radium activities that were determined in the Amazon River mouth and along the Amazon plume that extends off the coasts of Brazil and French Guyana into the Atlantic Ocean. We summarize Ra-223 and Ra-224 data from AmasSeds (1991), AMANDES (GEOTRACES process study GApr01; 2007-2008) and M147 (2018) projects, which were conducted in different seasons corresponding to different Amazon discharge rates. We determined the Ra-224(ex)/Ra-223 activity ratios (AR) along the Amazon plume to derive apparent ages and to estimate the residence time of the Amazon waters on the Brazilian continental shelf. Our data suggest that it takes 9-14 d for the Amazon waters to reach the northern continental shelf off French Guyana and 12-21 d to reach the eastern part of the Brazilian continental shelf. These time scales are in good agreement with those derived from a high-resolution numerical simulation of the regional ocean dynamics. We do not find any relationship between the discharge rate of the Amazon River and the residence time of the waters on the Brazilian continental shelf, suggesting that the residence time of the Amazon waters is primarily driven by the ambient northwestward current. Using the apparent ages along the plume, we estimate an average velocity of 26 cm s(-1) for the northward transport of the Amazon waters on the continental shelf.

Automated summary

The study investigates the release of radium isotopes when rivers mix into the ocean and analyzes their activities. The residence time of Amazon waters on the Brazilian continental shelf is found to be primarily driven by the surrounding currents, independent of the discharge rate of the Amazon River.