Fallout radionuclides in Mediterranean sediments
The rates at which fallout Pu nuclides are being transferred to the sediments of the Mediterranean are considerably less than those which apply generally to the Atlantic Ocean. The lack of variation in the ratio Pu 239,240/Cs-137 in many of the sediment cores could be interpreted to suggest that Pu and Cs-137 are being delivered to the sediments by compositionally similar particle populations. The nuclide burden in the sediments varies surprisingly little over a wide range of depths and locations and the actual variation is consistent with varying particle trapping efficiencies for sediment-dwelling organisms. The vertical nuclide distribution patterns in the sediments nowhere show indications of high sedimentation rates and are explainable in terms of variable degrees of organism burial by bioturbation. The ratios Am 241/Pu 239,240 measured in the sediments imply that Am is being transferred to the sediments at rates between 4 and 9 times greater than those for Pu. If the vertical mixing of particles in the sediments implied in these radionuclide data is indeed taking place in sediments which are, in fact, accumulating much more slowly than the particle mixing rates, then this has implications for detailed stratigraphic interpretations of the sediment record.
- Research Organization:
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 7210946
- Report Number(s):
- COO-3563-50; CONF-7610109-2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Cycling of fallout (Pu, /sup 241/Am, /sup 137/Cs) and natural (U, Th, /sup 210/Pb) radionuclides in Washington continental slope sediments
Radioelement studies in the oceans. Progress report, January 1, 1977--December 31, 1977. [Transport of fallout radionuclides in Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and Mediterranean Sea during 1977]
Related Subjects
Aquatic-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
58 GEOSCIENCES
580500 -- Oceanography-- (1980-1989)
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
BENTHOS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CESIUM 137
CESIUM ISOTOPES
DEPTH
DIMENSIONS
DRILL CORES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ECOSYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FALLOUT
FALLOUT DEPOSITS
GEOLOGY
HEAVY NUCLEI
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
ISOTOPES
MASS TRANSFER
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
MIXING
MONITORING
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLUTONIUM 239
PLUTONIUM 240
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIONUCLIDE KINETICS
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
SAMPLING
SEAS
SEAWATER
SEDIMENTS
STRATIGRAPHY
SURFACE WATERS
WATER
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES