チャクチ海・ベーリング海におけるI-129の鉛直分布およびその供給経路に関する研究

Distribution and source of I-129 in Chukchi Sea and Bering Sea

三輪 一爾 ; 小畑 元*; 鈴木 崇史  ; 乙坂 重嘉  

Miwa, Kazuji; Obata, Hajime*; Suzuki, Takashi; Otosaka, Shigeyoshi

ヨウ素の放射性同位体I-129の地球規模での主な放出源はSellafield(英)とLa Hague(仏)にある核燃料再処理施設であり、放出されたI-129は北海を経て東部北極海(大西洋側)や北極海中央部へ大量に流入している。一方、北極海の北西部に位置するチャクチ海へのI-129流入も考えられるがその実態はわかっていない。そこでチャクチ海及びその南側にあたるベーリング海におけるI-129の鉛直分布と水塊構造から北極海(東部、中央部)からのI-129流入の可能性を検討した。観測の結果、チャクチ海の北緯66度までの表層にはベーリング海由来と考えられる高温の海水が存在した。また、チャクチ海北部の北緯69度以北の底層には低温の海水が存在した。この底層低温海水が北極海由来の高I-129海水である可能性が考えられたが、いくつかの測点におけるI-129濃度の鉛直分布の範囲は0.79 - 2.8910 atoms/Lであり表層高温海水と底層低温海水におけるI-129の濃度に大きな違いはなく、北極海からI-129を高濃度に含む海水の流入の可能性は低いと考えられた。

I-129 in a global environment is originated from the European nuclear fuel reprocessing plants (NFRP), Sellafield in U.K. and La Hague in France, and it is observed a large amount of I-129 inflows from European NFRP into the eastern and central Arctic Ocean. Previous studies on I-129 at surface indicated seawater with high I-129 concentration does not inflow from eastern and central Arctic Ocean to Chukchi Sea, located in western Arctic Ocean. However, there is a possibility of inflow of I-129 because the vertical distribution of I-129 has not observed at the ocean. The purpose of this study is to identify the inflow of seawater with high I-129 concentration from eastern and central Arctic Ocean by observing the vertical distribution of I-129 and water mass structure in Chukchi Sea and Bering Sea. Seawater with high temperature at surface of southern Chukchi Sea (- 66N) and with low temperature at bottom of the northern Chukchi Sea (69N -) were observed. The seawater with low temperature might include high I-129 concentration. However, I-129 concentration in some points was observed ranging from 0.79 to 2.89 (10 atoms/L), which was two orders of magnitude lower than that in the eastern and central Arctic Ocean. And no significant difference of I-129 concentration between seawater at surface and at bottom was shown. Therefore, we could not identify the inflow of seawater with high I-129 concentration from eastern and central Arctic Ocean to Chukchi Sea.