Tracking the early dispersion of contaminated sediment along rivers draining the Fukushima radioactive pollution plume

Chartin, Caroline; Evrard, Olivier; Onda, Yuichi; Patin, Jérémy; Lefevre, Irène; Ottlé, Catherine; Ayrault, Sophie; Lepage, Hugo; Bonté, Philippe

doi:10.1016/j.ancene.2013.07.001

Cited by 88 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Radiocesium inputs to Japanese coastal waters also occur via riverine sources and surface water runoff (Chartin et al 2013, Nagao et al 2013, Evrard et al 2015. Cs has a high affinity for particles in freshwater, and thus its transport and delivery via rivers are associated largely with high sediment loads that occur during heavy rains and flood events.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Fukushima Daiichi–Derived Radionuclides in the Ocean: Transport, Fate, and Impacts

Buesseler

Dai

Aoyama

et al. 2017

Annu. Rev. Mar. Sci.

231

116

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The events that followed the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, included the loss of power and overheating at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants, which led to extensive releases of radioactive gases, volatiles, and liquids, particularly to the coastal ocean. The fate of these radionuclides depends in large part on their oceanic geochemistry, physical processes, and biological uptake. Whereas radioactivity on land can be resampled and its distribution mapped, releases to the marine environment are harder to characterize owing to variability in ocean currents and the general challenges of sampling at sea. Five years later, it is appropriate to review what happened in terms of the sources, transport, and fate of these radionuclides in the ocean. In addition to the oceanic behavior of these contaminants, this review considers the potential health effects and societal impacts.

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Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Fukushima Daiichi–Derived Radionuclides in the Ocean: Transport, Fate, and Impacts

Buesseler

Dai

Aoyama

et al. 2017

Annu. Rev. Mar. Sci.

231

116

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The subtropical coastal region has slightly warmer winters, along with hot humid summers and more precipitation in the summer months, compared to relatively dry winters. There is tropical-cyclone-driven precipitation in the Fukushima region that results in high volumes and intensities of precipitation occurring during extreme events (Evrard et al, 2014;Chartin et al, 2013). The Japanese tropical cyclone season occurs between May and October with the peak activity occurring between July and September.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Rainfall erosivity in catchments contaminated with fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident

Laceby

Chartin

Evrard

et al. 2016

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (FD-NPP) accident in March 2011 resulted in the fallout of significant quantities of radiocesium over the Fukushima region. After reaching the soil surface, radiocesium is quickly bound to fine soil particles. Thereafter, rainfall and snowmelt run-off events transfer particle-bound radiocesium downstream. Characterizing the precipitation regime of the fallout-impacted region is thus important for understanding post-deposition radiocesium dynamics. Accordingly, 10 min (1995Accordingly, 10 min ( -2015 and daily precipitation data from 42 meteorological stations within a 100 km radius of the FDNPP were analyzed. Monthly rainfall erosivity maps were developed to depict the spatial heterogeneity of rainfall erosivity for catchments entirely contained within this radius. The mean average precipitation in the region surrounding the FDNPP is 1420 mm yr −1 (SD 235) with a mean rainfall erosivity of 3696 MJ mm ha −1 h −1 yr −1 (SD 1327). Tropical cyclones contribute 22 % of the precipitation (422 mm yr −1 ) and 40 % of the rainfall erosivity (1462 MJ mm ha −1 h −1 yr −1 (SD 637)). The majority of precipitation (60 %) and rainfall erosivity (82 %) occurs between June and October. At a regional scale, rainfall erosivity increases from the north to the south during July and August, the most erosive months. For the remainder of the year, this gradient occurs mostly from northwest to southeast. Relief features strongly influence the spatial distribution of rainfall erosivity at a smaller scale, with the coastal plains and coastal mountain range having greater rainfall erosivity than the inland Abukuma River valley. Understanding these patterns, particularly their spatial and temporal (both inter-and intraannual) variation, is important for contextualizing soil and particle-bound radiocesium transfers in the Fukushima region. Moreover, understanding the impact of tropical cyclones will be important for managing sediment and sediment-bound contaminant transfers in regions impacted by these events.

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“…The second long-term source of 137 Cs to the ocean is river-borne waters and sediments (Nagao et al, 2013, Chartin et al, 2013. Nagao et al (2013) found that up to half of the annual Cs flux from the Japanese rivers is from heavy rain events.…”

Section: Cycling Of Cesium In the Oceanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fukushima and Ocean Radioactivity

Buesseler¹

2014

oceanog

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Tracking the early dispersion of contaminated sediment along rivers draining the Fukushima radioactive pollution plume

Cited by 88 publications

References 40 publications

Fukushima Daiichi–Derived Radionuclides in the Ocean: Transport, Fate, and Impacts

Fukushima Daiichi–Derived Radionuclides in the Ocean: Transport, Fate, and Impacts

Rainfall erosivity in catchments contaminated with fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident

Fukushima and Ocean Radioactivity

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