Distribution of fallout radionuclides (7Be, 137Cs, 210Pb and 239,240Pu) in soils of Taiwan

Using 137Cs and 210Pbex measurements to estimate soil redistribution rates on semi-arid grassland in Mongolia

“…The 210 Pb ex reference inventory of 5730 Bq m − 2 was reported for the Loess Plateau in China (37°N, 109°E; Zhang et al, 2003). On the other hand, several groups have reported very high depositional flux of 210 Pb ex ; a value of 34,000 Bq m − 2 was reported for the 210 Pb ex reference inventory in soil in Taiwan (25°N, 122°E) (Huh and Su, 2004), and a value of 12,625 Bq m − 2 was reported for the Sichuan hilly basin of China (29°N, 106°E) . These relatively high reference inventories were attributed to greater amounts of annual precipitation in the former case and the limited dispersal of locally generated 210 Pb ex into the upper troposphere, due to cloudy and wet weather for the latter case.…”

Aerosol deposition and origin in French mountains estimated with soil inventories of 210Pb and artificial radionuclides

“…Pollutants including N and S oxides, metals and artificial radionuclides are known to be concentrated in mountain soils (Branford et al, 1998;Huh and Su, 2004;Pourcelot et al, 2003Pourcelot et al, , 2007Weathers et al, 2000). In addition, high-elevation ecosystems are also highly sensitive to human impact because doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.10.083 environmental conditions are extreme and growing seasons are short.…”

Major and trace elements in soils in the Central Pyrenees: high altitude soils as a cumulative record of background atmospheric contamination over SW Europe

“…Increased concentrations of 137 Cs, Pb, Cd, Cs, Hg, Rb, and S with altitude have been recorded in soils along a transect across the Pyrenees (McGee and Vallejo 1996), and the concentrations of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Ni, Pb, V, Zn, and S in moss shoots (as a surrogate of atmospheric deposition) are strongly correlated with their sampling altitude in the northern and eastern Alps (Zechmeister 1995). Other studies point out that contaminants may accumulate particularly at those sites where cloud water deposition is dominant (Huh and Su 2004;Gerdol and Bragazza 2006). Hence, the rates of deposition to mountainous areas are likely to vary considerably across major landscape features, such as forest edges, elevation, aspect, and vegetation type (Graustein and Turekian 1989;Weathers et al 2000).…”