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239,240Pu and137Cs in the East China and the Yellow Seas

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Abstract

The distribution and inventory of artificial radionuclides,239,240Pu and137Cs were determined in the East China and the Yellow Seas in 1987. Almost all of239,240Pu and 50 to 80% of137Cs in the continental shelf area are retained in the sediment column.239,240Pu sediment inventory in the sea area is larger than the fallout input and tends to increase southwardly. This excess239,240Pu and the lateral distribution are attributable to the supply of239,240Pu by the Yangtze River discharge. On the contrary,137Cs sediment inventory shows a decrease to the south, and the fact can be accounted for by the southward dispersion of fine silt particles discharged from the Yellow River. Total137Cs inventory is smaller than the estimated fallout input, and the fact seems to indicate dispersion of137Cs out of the shelf region. Vertical profiles of239,240Pu and137Cs contents in sediments differ from that of natural210Pb, implying the effect of varied accumulation rates of the artificial radionuclides over the sediment particle mixing by benthic organisms. Apparent maximum sediment particle mixing coefficient (D B ) calculated from the excess210Pb profiles in stations located between the inner and outer shelves ranged from 1.4 to 8.3 cm2y−1. ThisD B value is higher than that in the Okinawa Trough (1.0 cm2y−1), but lower than previously estimatedD B value (≈26 cm2y−1) in the outer shelf mud.

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  1. Division of Marine Radioecology, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Isozaki, 311-12, Nakaminato, Japan

    Yutaka Nagaya & Kiyoshi Nakamura

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  1. Yutaka Nagaya
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  2. Kiyoshi Nakamura
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Nagaya, Y., Nakamura, K. 239,240Pu and137Cs in the East China and the Yellow Seas. J Oceanogr 48, 23–35 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02234030

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