Spatial and vertical distribution of radiocesium in marine sediment cores of Fukushima Prefecture

Chaboche, P.-A.*; Wakiyama, Yoshifumi*; Takata, Hyoe*; Wada, Toshihiro*; Misono, Toshiharu   ; Shiribiki, Takehiko; Funaki, Hironori 

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) incident, triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami in March 2011, resulted in the release of significant quantities of radionuclides into the terrestrial and marine environments of Fukushima Prefecture. While the activity of radiocesium (i.e., Cs and Cs) in these environments has decreased since the accident, continuous inputs through rivers draining and eroding the main terrestrial radioactive plume have been measured, maintaining elevated levels of Cs in riverine and coastal sediment deposited off the Prefecture's coast. Consequently, identifying the sources of sediment is required to elucidate the links between terrestrial and marine radiocesium dynamics and to anticipate the fate of persistent radionuclides in the environment.