Temporal variability of Cs concentrations in coastal sediments off Fukushima

Suzuki, Shotaro*; Amano, Yosuke*; Enomoto, Masahiro*; Matsumoto, Akira*; Morioka, Yoshiaki*; Sakuma, Kazuyuki   ; Tsuruta, Tadahiko  ; Kaeriyama, Hideki*; Miura, Hikaru*; Tsumune, Daisuke*; Kamiyama, Kyoichi*; Wada, Toshihiro*; Takata, Hyoe*

The monthly monitoring data (total 3647 samples) between May. 2011 and Mar. 2020 were analyzed to describe temporal variability of Cs concentration in coastal sediments off Fukushima. Cs concentration of sediment had decreasing trend, but non-linear model fitting suggested that this decreasing trend showed slower. Additionally, Cs concentration were up to 4.08 times greater in shallow sampling sites (7, 10, 20 m depth) following heavy rainfall events (before five months vs. after five months), such as typhoons. These were consistent with increasing particulate Cs (P-Cs) fluxes from river and increasing dissolved Cs (D-Cs) concentration in seawater. Finally, the numerical experiment was conducted and revealed that riverine Cs input could preserve Cs concentration in coastal sediment. These results indicate that riverine Cs input via heavy rainfall events is one of the main factors for preserving Cs concentration in coastal sediment off Fukushima.