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Baseline study on radiological and mineralogical investigations of heavy mineral depositions on the south–west coast of India

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Abstract

Pristine depositions of beach sediments containing heavy minerals (HM) along the shorelines of Mangalore, south–west coast of India is reported in the study. Primordial radionuclide concentrations in the beach sediments collected were determined by high purity germanium (HPGe) gamma spectrometry method. The mineral identification and counting were performed using polarizing microscope. Geometric mean values (GM) [Geometric Standard Deviation (GSD)] of concentrations of 40K, 232Th and 226Ra are obtained to be 139 (2), 482 (5) and 110 (4) Bq kg−1 respectively and total heavy mineral weight percentage (TM%) of Monazite, Zircon, Ilmenite and Lithic fragments are obtained to be 0.17 (3.5), 0.51 (2.9), 5.3 (3.2) and 2.3 (2.5)% respectively. Seasonal variation studies and statistical analysis of the data are also performed to examine correlations between the origins of the radionuclides and elevated percentage of HM in these sediment depositions.

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Acknowledgements

The suggestions of Dr. Manish Joshi, Scientific Officer, Radiological Physics and Advisory Division, BARC with regard to the statistical analysis is gratefully acknowledged. Authors profusely thank Dr. Swaroop Acharya and Mr. Ranjith Shetty, Centre for Application of Radioisotopes and Radiation Technology (CARRT), Mangalore University for their assistance in sampling and processing work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Brehova 7, Praha, Czech Republic

    Trilochana Shetty

  2. National Centre for Coastal Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Chennai, 600 100, India

    Ateeth Shetty

  3. Marine and Coastal Survey Division, Geological Survey of India (GSI), Kolkata, 700 091, India

    A. Anil Kumar

  4. Marine and Coastal Survey Division, Geological Survey of India (GSI), Visakhapatnam, 530 018, India

    K. G. Mohan

  5. Centre for Advanced Research in Environmental Radioactivity (CARER), Mangalore University, Mangalagangothri, Mangalore, 574 199, India

    M. P. Mohan, N. Karunakara & H. M. Somashekarappa

  6. Chitkara University School of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, 174 103, India

    Mukesh Prasad

  7. National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, Chiba, 263 8555, Japan

    M. Janik

  8. Departmant of Marine Geology, Mangalore University, Mangalagangothri, Mangalore, 574 199, India

    K. S. Jayappa

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  1. Trilochana Shetty
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Shetty, T., Shetty, A., Anil Kumar, A. et al. Baseline study on radiological and mineralogical investigations of heavy mineral depositions on the south–west coast of India. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 332, 4977–4991 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-023-09238-z

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