Abstract
Abstract. This study investigated the spatio-temporal variations in activity concentrations in the Sea of Japan (SOJ) of 137Cs and these transport process from the North Pacific Ocean to the SOJ through the East China Sea (ECS) during 2012–2016. The 137Cs activity concentrations in the SOJ have been increasing since 2012–2013 and reached a maximum in 2015–2016 of approximately 3.4 Bq m−3, more than twice the pre-Fukushima accident 137Cs activity concentration of ∼1.5 Bq m−3. The 134Cs ∕ 137Cs activity ratios ranged from 0.36 to 0.51 in 2016. After taking into account radioactive decay and ocean mixing, we concluded that these 134Cs ∕ 137Cs activity ratios were evidence that the Fukushima accident caused the increase in the 137Cs activity concentrations. In the North Pacific south of Japan (NPSJ), the highest 137Cs activities in 2012–2013 were observed in water from a depth of 300 m, the potential water density anomaly (σθ) of which corresponded to subtropical mode water (STMW). In the ECS, a clear increase in the 137Cs activity concentration started at a depth of 140 m (σθ= 25.2 kg m−3) in April 2013, propagated to the surface layers at depths of roughly 0–50 m, reached a maximum in 2015 and decreased in subsequent years. In the ECS, the Fukushima-derived radiocaesium activity concentration in surface water reached a maximum in 2014–2015, whereas the concentration in the SOJ reached a maximum in 2015–2016. The propagation of Fukushima-derived radiocaesium in surface seawater from the ECS into the SOJ therefore required approximately 1 year. These temporal changes in 137Cs activity concentrations and 134Cs ∕ 137Cs activity ratios indicated that part of the 137Cs and 134Cs derived from the Fukushima accident (FNPP1-derived 137Cs and134Cs) was transported within several years to the ECS and then to the SOJ via STMW from the NPSJ. The integrated amount of FNPP1-derived 137Cs that entered the SOJ before 2016 was estimated to be 0.21±0.01 PBq, 5.0 % of the estimated total amount of FNPP1-derived 137Cs in the STMW. The integrated amount of FNPP1-derived 137Cs that returned to the North Pacific Ocean through the Tsugaru Strait was estimated to be 0.09±0.01 Bq, 43 % of the total amount of FNPP1-derived 137Cs transported to the SOJ and 2.1 % of the estimated total amount of FNPP1-derived 137Cs in the STMW.
Highlights
The Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP1) accident in March 2011 released radiocaesium (137Cs, half-life 30.2 years, and 134 Cs, half-life 2.06 years) directly into the air and directly discharged contaminated water to the ocean, primarily in March and April 2011
There were several indicators of the transport process: (i) maximum 137Cs activity concentrations were observed in the subsurface layer rather than the surface seawater; (ii) σθ data indicated that the 137Cs activity concentrations were highest in subtropical mode water (STMW); (iii) in the East China Sea (ECS), the similarity of the σθ of 137Cs-contaminated seawater to the σθ of STMW is an indication that FNPP1-derived 137Cs was transported into the ECS via STMW from the North Pacific south of Japan (NPSJ); and (iv) the 137Cs activwww.ocean-sci.net/14/813/2018/
The 137Cs activity concentrations in the Sea of Japan (SOJ) increased beginning in 2012–2013 and reached a maximum in 2015–2016 of approximately 3 Bq m−3, which is above the pre-Fukushima accident level of 1.5 Bq m−3
Summary
The Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP1) accident in March 2011 released radiocaesium (137Cs, half-life 30.2 years, and 134 Cs, half-life 2.06 years) directly into the air and directly discharged contaminated water to the ocean, primarily in March and April 2011. The 137Cs activity concentration in the surface seawater of the North Pacific Ocean after the FNPP1 accident ranged from a few Bq m−3 to about 1 kBq m−3 A basinscale assessment indicated that the FNPP1-derived radiocaesium was confined to a region from 25 to 50◦ N and from 135◦ E to 135◦ W in April and May 2011 (e.g. Aoyama et al, 2013b, 2016a; Inomata et al, 2016; Tsubono et al, 2016). Y. Inomata et al.: Transport of FNPP1-derived radiocaesium from subtropical mode water
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