Assessment of land load of radioactive cesium in coastal areas

Misono, Toshiharu   ; Nakanishi, Takahiro   ; Tsuruta, Tadahiko  ; Shiribiki, Takehiko; Nagao, Seiya*; Ochiai, Shinya*; Sanada, Yukihisa   

The tsunami caused an accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, causing a large amount of radioactive cesium (RCs) to release and deposit in the surrounding environment. The load of RCs on the coastal area is considered to be resuspension from seafloor sediments and inflow to land through rivers. Quantification of land load is important for understanding the dynamics of RCs. In this study, the RCs concentration and mass flux of sinking particles were measured. We also measured the carbon/nitrogen ratio and stable carbon isotope ratio of sinking particles and attempted to evaluate the effects of land load.