Advanced spatio-temporal modelling in long-term radiological assessment models—radionuclides in the soil column

Abstract

Recent developments in the modelling of key radionuclides in long-timescale assessments of the safety of geological disposal of spent fuel and other radioactive wastes emphasise the influence of the redox conditions of the soil column. Models with higher spatial resolution than typically employed in standard modelling approaches have been shown to capture important features of experimental observations that are not otherwise manifested. Furthermore, models with monthly, rather than annually, averaged parameters and with dynamic transfers between soil and plant have been shown to lead to key differences compared with standard models employing soil–plant concentration ratios. This paper looks at the potential for the inclusion of a higher spatio-temporal resolution in models for long-timescale dose assessments and includes representations of measured plant-root distributions as well as the effects of bioturbation. Focusing here on the distribution and dynamics of radionuclides in the soil column, the effects of different spatial and temporal resolution are compared, together with an investigation of the way in which the hydrology of the soil column is represented. The approach has been successfully incorporated into a practical assessment-level model. Results indicate the potential importance of higher spatio-temporal resolution in modelling soil column dynamics, particularly of weakly sorbing radionuclides in long-timescale assessments featuring sudden transitions between ecosystem types.