Cloudwater deposition process of radionuclides based on water droplets retrieved from pollen sensor data

Kaneyasu, Naoki*; Kutsuna, Shuzo*; Iida, Kenjiro*; Sanada, Yukihisa; Tajiri, Takuya*

Environmental Science & Technology, 56(17), p.12036 - 12044, 2022/09

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c02051

Radionuclides released during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident caused altitude-dependent surface contamination in the mountainous areas of Japan. To explore the possible cloudwater deposition that formed a distinctive contamination profile, data from pollen sensors deployed nationwide were analyzed. Utilizing the polarization of scattered light, Cedar pollen and water droplets were distinguished. On March 15, when surface contamination was simulated in previous studies, dense cloud with high droplet number density were observed outside the Cs surface deposition areas, indicating that the sensor sites were immersed amid cloud layers. In contrast, cloud droplets with moderate number density were measured at altitudes of approximately 570-840 m, which overlapped with the surface contamination areas. Considering the existing knowledge on vertical gradients of cloudwater composition, these suggest that contaminated cloud droplets were localized near the cloud base where a moderate number density of cloud droplets was measured. A formation process was proposed for the observed vertical distribution, that is, surface contamination occurred intensively at the contact line between the cloud base and mountain slopes via cloudwater deposition, and the descending cloud base formed the contamination zone. This study sheds light on the deposition processes of radionuclides which have not previously been clarified.