Coupling the advection-dispersion equation with fully kinetic reversible/irreversible sorption terms to model radiocesium soil profiles in Fukushima Prefecture

Kurikami, Hiroshi; Malins, A.; Takeishi, Minoru; Saito, Kimiaki; Iijima, Kazuki

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 171, p.99 - 109, 2017/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.01.026

A modified diffusion-sorption-fixation model (mDSF) is proposed to describe the vertical migration of radiocesium in soils following fallout. The model introduces kinetics for reversible sites, meaning that the exponential-shape radiocesium distribution can be reproduced immediately following fallout. The initial relaxation mass depth of the distribution is determined by the diffusion length, which depends on the distribution coefficient, sorption rate and dispersion coefficient. The model captures the long tails of the radiocesium distribution at large depths. These tails are caused by different rates for kinetic sorption and desorption.