In the Ribble Estuary, Lancashire, U.K., systematic associations between discharge of radionuclides from the British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL) plants at Sellafield and Springfields and sediment size-fractions exist. The ability to map these associations through in situ spectroscopy (0·4-2·5 μm) of sediments at low tide was investigated. Laboratory spectra of inter-tidal sediment samples collected from the Ribble show a strong negative correlation (–0·7 to –0·8) between their radionuclide-associated clay content and reflectance within the 0·4-2·5 μm range. Field spectra of the same samples showed a less distinct relationship as a result of the presence of surface moisture, cyanobacteria, and halite within the intertidal zone. Methods are proposed to account for these problems.
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Bryant et al. (1996) studied this question.