Modeling the dynamics of long-term cycling and storage of sup 137 Cs in forested ecosystems: Chernobyl case study

Technical Report · Fri Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988

OSTI ID:6695815

Van Voris, P; Cowan, C E; Cataldo, D A; Wildung, R E ^[1]; Shugart, H H ^[2]

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1. Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
2. Virginia Univ., Charlottesville, VA (USA)

A microcomputer digital simulation model (RADFORET) was developed to predict the long-term cycling of radiocesium ({sup 137}Cs) in forested ecosystems using detailed {sup 137}Cs distribution data from two ecosystems. The primary forcing functions for the model were the concentration of {sup 137}Cs in the soil compartment and the rate of forest growth. Parameters were set for controlling the movement of {sup 137}Cs from soil into, and subsequent cycling within, the biotic compartments of the model for each ecosystem. The amount of the {sup 137}Cs available for uptake from the soil was inversely correlated with the clay content in the soil from each site and was positively correlated with cation exchange capacity (CEC) and soil organic matter. The effect of forest growth as a forcing function the {sup 137}Cs cycling model was simulated by coupling the output of a microcomputer digital simulation forest growth succession model (FORET) to the RADFORET cycling model. Thus, the {sup 137}Cs concentration in each of the seven compartment of the model resulted from both the donor-controlled linear differential equation model of {sup 137}Cs concentration in the soil and the dynamics of forest biomass over time. Forecasts of {sup 137}Cs distribution in the donor-controlled model favorably compared with actual {sup 137}Cs distributions in forest at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Savannah River, Georgia. This comparison provided a measure of model validity for additional simulations of projected {sup 137}Cs cycling in the forests around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident site in the USSR. 58 refs., 8 figs., 3 tabs.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/ER
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 6695815
• Report Number(s): PNL-SA-16120; ON: DE90016286
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540230 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
560162* -- Radionuclide Effects
Kinetics
& Toxicology-- Animals
Plants
Microorganisms
& Cells
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ACCIDENTS
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOMASS
CESIUM 137
CESIUM ISOTOPES
CHERNOBYLSK-4 REACTOR
DIGITAL SYSTEMS
DISTRIBUTION
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ECOSYSTEMS
EMISSION
ENERGY SOURCES
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EXPLOSIONS
FEDERAL REGION IV
FOOD CHAINS
FORESTS
GRAPHITE MODERATED REACTORS
ISOTOPES
LWGR TYPE REACTORS
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MINERAL CYCLING
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
NUCLEI
NUTRIENTS
OAK RIDGE
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
POWER REACTORS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIONUCLIDE KINETICS
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
REACTORS
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
RIVERS
SAVANNAH RIVER
SOILS
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
TENNESSEE
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
THERMAL REACTORS
USA
WATER COOLED REACTORS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES