Hemispheric dispersion of radioactive plume laced with fission nuclides from the Fukushima nuclear event

Radioactivities of particulate 131I and 137Cs released from the Fukushima nuclear accident were monitored in a regional aerosol network including two high mountain sites (central Taiwan and Tibetan Plateau). The results were integrated with data measured elsewhere around the world, with special focu...

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Main Authors: Hsu, Shih-Chieh, Huh, Chih-An, Chan, Chuen-Yu, Lin, Shuen-Hsin, Lin, Fei-Jan, Liu, Shaw Chen
Format: Article
Published: American Geophysical Union 2012
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48313/
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author Hsu, Shih-Chieh
Huh, Chih-An
Chan, Chuen-Yu
Lin, Shuen-Hsin
Lin, Fei-Jan
Liu, Shaw Chen
author_facet Hsu, Shih-Chieh
Huh, Chih-An
Chan, Chuen-Yu
Lin, Shuen-Hsin
Lin, Fei-Jan
Liu, Shaw Chen
author_sort Hsu, Shih-Chieh
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Radioactivities of particulate 131I and 137Cs released from the Fukushima nuclear accident were monitored in a regional aerosol network including two high mountain sites (central Taiwan and Tibetan Plateau). The results were integrated with data measured elsewhere around the world, with special focus on the mid-latitudes. The hemispheric transport of the Fukushima radiation clouds (FRCs) by the westerlies took $18 days, displaying an exponential-like decrease eastward, with a dilution factor of at least five orders of magnitude following a full circuit around the globe. The initial two waves of FRCs may travel at different atitudes: the first one at $3–4 km, whereas the second one up to 5 km or more. 131I and 137Cs were fractionated during transport, with 137Cs concentrated in the shallower layer, susceptible to depositional removal, while 131I moving faster and higher. This accident may be exemplified to identify some atmospheric processes on the hemispheric scale.
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spelling nottingham-483132020-05-04T16:32:13Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48313/ Hemispheric dispersion of radioactive plume laced with fission nuclides from the Fukushima nuclear event Hsu, Shih-Chieh Huh, Chih-An Chan, Chuen-Yu Lin, Shuen-Hsin Lin, Fei-Jan Liu, Shaw Chen Radioactivities of particulate 131I and 137Cs released from the Fukushima nuclear accident were monitored in a regional aerosol network including two high mountain sites (central Taiwan and Tibetan Plateau). The results were integrated with data measured elsewhere around the world, with special focus on the mid-latitudes. The hemispheric transport of the Fukushima radiation clouds (FRCs) by the westerlies took $18 days, displaying an exponential-like decrease eastward, with a dilution factor of at least five orders of magnitude following a full circuit around the globe. The initial two waves of FRCs may travel at different atitudes: the first one at $3–4 km, whereas the second one up to 5 km or more. 131I and 137Cs were fractionated during transport, with 137Cs concentrated in the shallower layer, susceptible to depositional removal, while 131I moving faster and higher. This accident may be exemplified to identify some atmospheric processes on the hemispheric scale. American Geophysical Union 2012-01-12 Article PeerReviewed Hsu, Shih-Chieh, Huh, Chih-An, Chan, Chuen-Yu, Lin, Shuen-Hsin, Lin, Fei-Jan and Liu, Shaw Chen (2012) Hemispheric dispersion of radioactive plume laced with fission nuclides from the Fukushima nuclear event. Geophysical Research Letters, 39 (7). ISSN 0094-8276 https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL049986 doi:10.1029/2011GL049986 doi:10.1029/2011GL049986
spellingShingle Hsu, Shih-Chieh
Huh, Chih-An
Chan, Chuen-Yu
Lin, Shuen-Hsin
Lin, Fei-Jan
Liu, Shaw Chen
Hemispheric dispersion of radioactive plume laced with fission nuclides from the Fukushima nuclear event
title Hemispheric dispersion of radioactive plume laced with fission nuclides from the Fukushima nuclear event
title_full Hemispheric dispersion of radioactive plume laced with fission nuclides from the Fukushima nuclear event
title_fullStr Hemispheric dispersion of radioactive plume laced with fission nuclides from the Fukushima nuclear event
title_full_unstemmed Hemispheric dispersion of radioactive plume laced with fission nuclides from the Fukushima nuclear event
title_short Hemispheric dispersion of radioactive plume laced with fission nuclides from the Fukushima nuclear event
title_sort hemispheric dispersion of radioactive plume laced with fission nuclides from the fukushima nuclear event
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48313/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48313/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48313/