Long-term simulations of radiocesium discharge in watershed with improved radiocesium wash-off model; Applying the model to Abukuma River basin of Fukushima

Liu, X.; Machida, Masahiko  ; Kurikami, Hiroshi  ; Kitamura, Akihiro   

In order to simulate the long-term migration and distribution of radiocesium after the Fukushima accident, a numerical model, Soil and Cesium Transport (SACT) based on universal soil loss equation (USLE), has been developed in previous studies. Although the SACT model's results on radiocesium discharge in 2011 are in reasonable agreement with field measurements, it fails to capture the sharp decrease of radiocesium flux in subsequent years, especially in the case of Abukuma River. We therefore have improved SACT by implementing the vertical migration and fixation of radiocesium in soil. For validation purpose, the annual average radiocesium concentration in sediments discharged from Abukuma River has been evaluated from measurement data. New model achieved much better agreement with the measurement results without parameter tuning.