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Distribution of plutonium isotopes in sediments of Melanesian Basin, Central Pacific

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Abstract

The anthropogenic plutonium isotopes are important geochemical tracers for environmental studies. The distributions and sources of the Pu isotopes in water column or sediments of the North Pacific have been intensively studied. However, knowledge on the distribution of Pu isotopes in sediments of the Central Pacific, when available, is limited. To study the composition of Pu isotopes in the ocean, thus to identify the sources of radioactive pollution, sediment core samples were collected in the Central Pacific by R/V Hakuho Maru in the KH-04-5 cruise. The activity concentrations of 239+240Pu and the 240Pu/239Pu atom ratio were determined using a sector-field inductively coupled mass spectrometry (SF-ICP-MS) combined with a high efficiency sample introduction system (APEX-Q). Possible sources and sedimentation behavior of Pu isotopes are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We express our deep appreciations to the captain, staffs and colleagues of R/V Hakuho Maru for their assistance during the sampling. This study was partially supported by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Radiation Effects Research Group, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Anagawa 491, Inage, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan

    Wei Dong, Jian Zheng & Masatoshi Yamada

  2. Department of Technical Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Wei Dong & Qiuju Guo

Authors
  1. Wei Dong
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  2. Jian Zheng
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  3. Masatoshi Yamada
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  4. Qiuju Guo
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Correspondence to Jian Zheng or Qiuju Guo.

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Dong, W., Zheng, J., Yamada, M. et al. Distribution of plutonium isotopes in sediments of Melanesian Basin, Central Pacific. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 287, 943–948 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-010-0884-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-010-0884-y

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