210Pb is an environmental radionuclide with a half-life of 22.3 years, formed in the atmosphere via radioactive decay of radon (222Rn). 222Rn itself is a noble gas with a half-life of 3.8 days and is formed via radioactive decay of uranium (238U) contained in the Earth crust from where it constantly emanates into the atmosphere. 210Pb atoms attach to aerosol particles, which are then deposited on glaciers via scavenging with fresh snow. Due to its half-life, ice cores can be dated with this radionuclide over roughly one century, depending on the initial 210Pb activity concentration. Optimum 210Pb dating is achieved for cold glaciers with no – or little – influence by percolating meltwater. This paper presents an overview which not only includes dating of cold glaciers but also some special cases of 210Pb applications in glaciology addressing temperate glaciers, glaciers with negative mass balance, sublimation processes on glaciers in arid regions, determination of annual net snow accumulation as well as glacier flow rates.

中文翻译：

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放射性核素 210Pb 在冰川学中的应用——概述

210铅是一种环境放射性核素，半衰期为 22.3 年，通过氡的放射性衰变在大气中形成（222Rn)。222Rn 本身是一种惰性气体，半衰期为 3.8 天，由铀的放射性衰变形成（238U) 包含在地壳中，它不断地从那里散发到大气中。210铅原子附着在气溶胶颗粒上，然后通过新鲜雪清除沉积在冰川上。由于它的半衰期，冰芯可以用这种放射性核素测年大约一个世纪，这取决于最初的210铅活度浓度。最佳210铅测年是针对冷冰川实现的，而没有或几乎没有渗透融水的影响。本文介绍了一个概述，其中不仅包括冷冰川的年代测定，还包括一些特殊情况210铅在冰川学中的应用涉及温带冰川、负质量平衡冰川、干旱地区冰川的升华过程、年净积雪的测定以及冰川流速。