A novel nuclear forensic tool involving deposit type normalized rare earth element signatures

Tyler L. Spano, Antonio Simonetti, Thomas Wheeler, Grace Carpenter, Devonee Freet, Enrica Balboni, Corinne Dorais, Peter C. Burns

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

27 Scopus citations

Abstract

Identifying the provenance of uranium-rich materials is a critical objective of nuclear forensic analysis. Rare earth element (REE) distributions within uranium ores are well-established forensic indicators, but quantifying and correlating trace element signatures for U ores to known deposits has thus far involved intricate statistical analyses. This study reports average chondrite normalized (CN)-REE signatures for important U deposit types worldwide, which are then employed to evaluate U ore paragenesis using a simple linear regression analysis. This technique provides a straightforward method that can aid in determining the deposit type of U ores based on their REE abundances, and combined with other forensic indicators (e.g. radiogenic isotope signatures) can provide essential provenance information for nuclear materials.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)294-305
Number of pages12
JournalTerra Nova
Volume29
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2017
Externally publishedYes

Funding

Funding for this project was provided by the Department of Homeland Security Domestic Nuclear Detection Office Academic Research Initiative (DHS-14-DN-077-ARI-01). The authors also thank Stefanie Lewis for her contributions to the DTA database.

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