Transport Pathways of Radionuclides and Chemical Contaminants in the Kara Sea

Krosshavn, M.; Carroll, JoLynn; Engoy, Thor; Grenness, Ø.; Johnsen, A.; Johnson, David G.; King, S.E.; Ruud, A.B.

doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.rpd.a032235

Cited by 6 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…submitted . The levels detected are in agreement with other measurements from other groups ŽJNREG, 1996; King et al, 1997;Krosshavn et al, . 1998 .…”

Section: Concentrations In the Skagerraksupporting

confidence: 92%

Anthropogenic radioactivity in the Arctic Ocean — review of the results from the joint German project

Nies

Harms

Kärcher

et al. 1999

Science of The Total Environment

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The paper presents the results of the joint project carried out in Germany in order to assess the consequences in the marine environment from the dumping of nuclear wastes in the Kara and Barents Seas. The project consisted of experimental work on measurements of radionuclides in samples from the Arctic marine environment and numerical modelling of the potential pathways and dispersion of contaminants in the Arctic Ocean. Water and sediment samples were collected for determination of radionuclide such as 137 Cs, 90 Sr, 239q240 Pu, 238 Pu, and 241 Am and various organic micropollutants. In addition, a few water and numerous surface sediment samples collected in the Kara Sea and from the Kola peninsula were taken by Russian colleagues and analysed for artificial radionuclides by the BSH laboratory. The role of transport by sea ice from the Kara Sea into the Arctic Ocean was assessed by a small subgroup at GEOMAR. This transport process might be considered as a rapid contribution due to entrainment of contaminated sediments into sea ice, following export from the Kara Sea into the transpolar ice drift and subsequent release in the Atlantic Ocean in the area of the East Greenland Current. Numerical modelling of dispersion of pollutants from the Kara and Barents Seas was carried out both on a local scale for the Barents and Kara Seas and for long range dispersion into the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. Three-dimensional baroclinic circulation models were applied to trace the transport of pollutants. Experimental results were used to validate the model results such as the discharges from the nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield and subsequent contamination of the North Sea up the Arctic Seas. ᮊ 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

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“…submitted . The levels detected are in agreement with other measurements from other groups ŽJNREG, 1996; King et al, 1997;Krosshavn et al, . 1998 .…”

Section: Concentrations In the Skagerraksupporting

confidence: 92%

Anthropogenic radioactivity in the Arctic Ocean — review of the results from the joint German project

Nies

Harms

Kärcher

et al. 1999

Science of The Total Environment

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“…Sverdrup during the late summer cruises of 1993-1996 include profiles of temperature T, salinity S, fluorescence index F, light attenuation C, current velocities v by shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), moored current meters, and ice beacon drifters, and isotope measurements of cesium, strontium, and plutonium. The methodology for the isotope sampling has been given by Krosshavn et al [1998]. Johnson et al [2000] focus on the optical data.…”

Section: Field Program and Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transport processes in the Kara Sea

McClimans¹,

Johnson²,

Krosshavn³

et al. 2000

J. Geophys. Res.

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“…Pavlov et al 1993 or Pavlov and This holds in particular for a frequently cited cyclonic current structure in the southern Kara Sea which was not supported either by our model simula-Ž . tions nor by observations Krosshavn et al, 1998 . Based on recent model results, two circulation Ž .…”

Section: The Kara Sea Circulationmentioning

confidence: 71%

Modelling Siberian river runoff — implications for contaminant transport in the Arctic Ocean

Harms

Kärcher

Dethleff

2000

Journal of Marine Systems

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This model study investigates the role of Siberian river runoff for the transport of possible river contaminants in the Arctic Ocean. Three-dimensional coupled ice-ocean-models of different horizontal resolution are applied to simulate the dispersion of river water from Ob, Yenisei and Lena. These Siberian rivers are supposed to be important sources for various contaminants. The relevant processes which are considered in this study include the dispersion of dissolved or suspended contaminants in the water column and the transport of contaminated particles, incorporated into drifting sea ice.Circulation model results from both spatial scales explain the main pathways and transit times of Siberian river water in the Arctic Ocean. Kara Sea river water clearly dominates in the Siberian branch of the Transpolar Drift, while the Lena water dominates in the Canadian branch. River water concentrations in Nares Strait, Canadian Archipelago, are similar to those in the northern Fram Strait. Special emphasis is given to the seasonal variability of the river plume in the Kara Sea. Particle tracking simulations on the regional scale illustrate that Ob and Yenisei tracers behave differently. Yenisei tracers leave the Kara Sea quite fast towards the Arctic Ocean or the Laptev Sea, but Ob tracers spread also in the southern Kara Sea, in particular at lower levels.A comparison of simulated freezing rates and particle concentrations in Siberian coastal waters suggests that during autumn, the incorporation of particles into freezing sea ice near the estuaries of Ob and Yenisei is very likely. Simulated ice trajectories, started close to the Lena river delta easily reach the multi-year Transpolar Drift within one winter. Ice trajectories from Ob and Yenisei estuaries, however, mostly drift towards the Barents Sea where the ice melts close to Svalbard. The model study confirms that contaminant transport through sediment-laden sea ice offers a short and effective pathway for pollutant transport from Siberian rivers to the Barents and Nordic Seas. q

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Transport Pathways of Radionuclides and Chemical Contaminants in the Kara Sea

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Anthropogenic radioactivity in the Arctic Ocean — review of the results from the joint German project

Anthropogenic radioactivity in the Arctic Ocean — review of the results from the joint German project

Transport processes in the Kara Sea

Modelling Siberian river runoff — implications for contaminant transport in the Arctic Ocean

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