A Recent History of ¹⁴C, ¹³⁷Cs, ²¹⁰Pb, and ²⁴¹Am Accumulation at Two Irish Peat Bog Sites: an East Versus West Coast Comparison

Abstract

Data on radiocarbon (14C), 137Cs, 210Pb, and 241Am levels in an ombrotrophic peat sequence from a montane site on the east coast of Ireland are compared with data from a similar sequence at an Atlantic peatland site on the west coast. The 14C profiles from the west and east coasts show a broadly similar pattern. Levels increase from 100 pMC or less in the deepest horizons examined, to peak values at the west and east coast sites of 117 ± 0.6 pMC and 132 ± 0.7 pMC, respectively (corresponding to maximal fallout from nuclear weapons testing around 1964), thereafter diminishing to levels of 110–113 pMC near the surface. Significantly, peak levels at the east coast site are considerably higher than corresponding levels at the west coast site, though both are lower than reported peak values for continental regions. The possibility of significant 14C enrichment at the east coast site due to past discharges from nuclear installations in the UK seems unlikely. The 210Pbex inventory at the east coast site (6500 Bq m−2) is significantly higher than at the west coast (5300 Bq m−2) and is consistent with the difference in rainfall at the two sites. Finally, 137Cs and 241Am inventories at the east coast site also exceed those at the west coast site by similar proportions (east:west ratio of approximately 1:1.2).

Degradation of water quality in Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland, by diffuse nitrogen flux from a phosphorus‐rich catchment

“…55 cm) from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident. Application of the CRS calculation also showed that sediment accumulation rates were extremely high and constant (5.4 cm yr 21 ), consistent with prior radioisotopic analysis of this coring site (Gallagher 2003). As a consequence of such high sedimentation rates, the 330-cm core encompassed a 62-yr period with annual resolution of fossil records.…”

Highly Organic Soils as “Witnesses” of Anthropogenic Pb, Cu, Zn, and 137Cs Inputs During Centuries

“…However, the 137 Cs activity has been detected especially in the upper part of profile, suggesting a possible influence of plant uptake, and until 36 cm of depth, corresponding to the first years of the XIX century, underling a significant downward movement of this radionuclide along the profile. This vertical migration is consistent with the 137 Cs profile reported in another core (2H) from the same site by Zaccone et al (2007c) and in other Irish peat bogs by several Authors (Mitchell et al 1992;Gallagher et al 2001;Coggins et al 2006).…”

Trace element and Pb isotope fingerprinting of atmospheric pollution sources: A case study from the east coast of Ireland

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