Abstract
The β radioactivity of snow-pit samples collected in the spring of 2011 on four Tibetan Plateau glaciers demonstrate a remarkable peak in each snow pit profile, with peaks about ten to tens of times higher than background levels. The timing of these peaks suggests that the high radioactivity resulted from the Fukushima nuclear accident that occurred on March 11, 2011 in eastern Japan. Fallout monitoring studies demonstrate that this radioactive material was transported by the westerlies across the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The depth of the peak β radioactivity in each snow pit compared with observational precipitation records, suggests that the radioactive fallout reached the Tibetan Plateau and was deposited on glacier surfaces in late March 2011, or approximately 20 days after the nuclear accident. The radioactive fallout existed in the atmosphere over the Tibetan Plateau for about one month.
Highlights
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake occurred on the sea floor approximately 130 km east of Port of Sendai, Honshu Island, Japan, and triggered a 10 m high tsunami, causing tremendous devastation along the east coast of Japan
The aim of this study is to investigate if the Fukushima radioactive fallout could be detected on the remote high-altitude Tibetan Plateau, which is mostly controlled by the westerlies during the period from the autumn to the spring, using an array of snow pits across the Tibetan Plateau
The peak β radioactivity in each snow pit profile (Fig. 4, see S1 Dataset) is crucial evidence that the Fukushima radioactive fallout travelled from Japan spread to the Tibetan Plateau
Summary
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake occurred on the sea floor approximately 130 km east of Port of Sendai, Honshu Island, Japan, and triggered a 10 m high tsunami, causing tremendous devastation along the east coast of Japan. The power supply to the nuclear power plant at Fukushima (37.42°N, 141.03°E) was affected by the earthquake and tsunami, resulting in the shutdown of the cooling, thereby causing several nuclear reactors to explode and releasing large amount of radioactive nuclear substances (radioactive fallout) to the atmosphere. The freshwater and seawater used to cool the nuclear reactors were highly polluted by the radioactive nuclear substances before flowing back to the ocean. The released radioactive nuclear substances polluted Japanese soil and coastal seawater [1, 2], and spread to other areas of the Northern Hemisphere via atmospheric circulation and ocean currents [3, 4], affecting the hemispheric and even global environment. As an overdose of nuclear radiation may PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0116580 February 6, 2015
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