Strontium in Florida Waters

STRONTIUM IN FLORIDA WATERS

by

H. T. Odum
Assisont Professor of Biology


Hererofore analyses for stroantim have apparently .no been
made in Florida waters Table No 3 includes some analyses
,ar have rccntml been made of several representative r pes
of waters in North Central Florida These analyses have been
made by evapvafanon of 4 liters of the ater, pIec.pitation of the
rcaicum and stroti.ur as oxalaces, asking the precipirates to
carsbonae., aId an esEration of the elements in a flame photon,-
cer The accuracy is 5 to 155z

Strontii. is ss.ocasted wil. calcim In nature but there i
),ly about one Iato of Istronrur for every 1000 atoms of cal-
,cn Althouh strontium and calcium are chemically related,
ansi rocesses have an actio on strontiu that differs sligqh-h
Iv frn their action on calcium. The analyse, of strantiru are
teponed in Table 3as rcar s of strontium to calcium because
di ratio of the clreentIs sa clu to the source of the elements.
The rati can be compared .,lh the ratio in source rocks.

The ocean ha a S/Ca ratio of 9.23 atoms/. OO atoms,
eas mosIt surface feshwaters have much rr-all er ratios as
'n Sweden and eastern Untied Stares. On the other hand lakes
4 i1e1sets, and ground waters eveIywher have a high SC/Ca
con like that of the ocean.

Althouh the SE/Ca ratio of Florida waters is greatest
Ground waters and lowest in lales aS in other regions allI
hases, especially streams, contain more stronium than other
rsion stCudaed Prioably this i an part due to he large amount
around ae, being contributed to Florida steams

"ia Btr/Ca ratins in ground waters apparently result from
different rate of solution for thie two elemenras Wter perco-
gts through strata picks up stronium fater then calcium,
Sr/Ca ratio in the warer rises white the Sr/Ca ratio of the
Sstraa 1a Jowteed However, waters recovered close to
Ti birt of entri seem to have Sr/Ca ratos mote narly equCoal


to the surface rocks of the area,

Attempts have been made so identify the origin of water by
the racios of hemical elemeInts Thus upon finding elemental
ratios in a sell like those in the ocean one might naer that the
water was circulating nc from the ocean or had been imprisoned
for yeas in deep Ieds fortunately', thiIs s a dangerous con
elusion for tr i s thought that fresh arers percolating through
sedimentary strata tend to pick up the elements found in he
ocean in the largest amounts, such as sodium and strontium.
Notice the high Sr/Ca ratio i he spring waters containing
nub sodium in Table 3 The Sr/Ca ratios of FIoosassaI Salt.
and other springs are high but not identical th the 9 23
aros/i0inO in the sea It is possible to account for the compo-
saUon of these waters without postulating "Fos.I A water or
connection wsi sea Salts distributed throughout the strata or
in oid salt beds would be expected to produce upon salmon a
high, but earring S,/Ca ratio. If sea water as involved, it has
been omuch modified or mixed with other waters These consid
cratIons may be important in understanding salty waters in o.i
field-as aswell a a. orgin f salty springs

In lakes che Sr/Ca ratio tends to be slightly higher in seep-
age takekes than in drainage lakes because he calcium is low to
the seepage lakes. The stronium in such cases may cone from
rinwaters anId minerals that have high Sr/Ca ratios rather than
ftom the litesrones, any of which have fairly low Sr/Ca ratios

The mineral Celesite (strontum sulfate) hs rah rely if ever
been reported from Florida-. I is a paradox that the mineral has
nor been found in a region whose waters have an unusually
high Sk/Ca ratio Apparently the high rainfall keeps hIe conce.n-
ratioina of sulaite too dilute fr miner a] formation.

Strontium is no iore toic than calciuir ,and never approach-
es harmful concentrations.