Pb and Cs in sediments from Sagami Bay, Japan: sedimentation rates and inventories

Profiles of the radioisotopes ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs were determined in 15 sediment cores collected from Sagami Bay, Japan. The activities of ²¹⁰Pb_ex (unsupported) in core top sediments increased with water depth from 25 dpm g⁻¹ on the upper continental slope off the mouth of Tokyo Bay to an average of 283 dpm g⁻¹ at the deep-sea station SB. The high ²¹⁰Pb trapping efficiency of settling particles expected from the results of the sediment trap experiment near the SB site suggests that effective ²¹⁰Pb enrichment in surface sediments may occur during resuspension and lateral transportation of particles via the benthic nepheloid layer on the continental slope. In several cores, ¹³⁷Cs profiles showed an increase, a distinct peak, and then a decrease to an undetectable level downcore. These profiles can be compared with the temporal change of bomb-produced ¹³⁷Cs fallout.The mean sedimentation rates estimated by the ²¹⁰Pb_ex inventory method, rather than using ²¹⁰Pb_ex profiles, ranged from 0.06 g cm⁻² y⁻¹ to 0.14 g cm⁻² y⁻¹. The average value of the rates in SB cores was calculated to be 0.11 g cm⁻² y⁻¹, which was similar to that calculated under the assumption that the age of the ¹³⁷Cs peak corresponds to its maximum fallout year in 1963.Although ¹³⁷Cs inventories represented one tenth of the anthropogenic fallout of ¹³⁷Cs until 1997, they correlated with the increase in ²¹⁰Pb_ex inventory. This suggests that the scavenging of refractory ¹³⁷Cs as well as ²¹⁰Pb by settling particles in the water column can lead to the formation of a time marker layer even in deep-sea sediment core, such as at the SB site.     

赣北黄茅潭近代湖泊~(137)Cs蓄积特点、SCP计数和事件性沉积及其对~(210)Pb计年的矫正

对赣北黄茅潭近代湖泊沉积岩芯进行了~(137)Cs、~(210)Pb测试和SCP(球状碳粒)计数分析,阐述了~(137)Cs蓄积特征,结合SCP计数、粒度指标及降水记录厘定了一些事件性沉积层位。研究表明,1986年前后是沉积环境中~(137)Cs行为的转折点;在这之前,~(137)Cs以大气散落为主,其蓄积行为大致与降水存在正相关关系,在这之后,~(137)Cs以流域侵蚀为主,其蓄积行为与降水呈负相关关系。1953—1954年、1974—1975年、1998—1999年,流域降水丰沛,相应沉积层位~(137)Cs比活度低,这与流域强烈侵蚀稀释了进入湖泊的~(137)Cs有关。1963—1964年沉积层位~(137)Cs蓄积峰稳定而显著,与高通量的大气散落有关,也与当时降水量低,大雨、暴雨次数少,流域侵蚀强度低造成较低的沉积速率等密切相关,是可靠的定年时标。1986年存在同样的气候环境特点,其蓄积峰可能也是存在的,但需要进一步确认。基于~(210)Pb方法,利用多种计年模式计算了沉积岩芯的年代,发现与这些事件性沉积层位具有较大差异。研究认为,在长江中游这种降水高、流域侵蚀强度高的较为复杂的沉积环境中,~(210)Pb计年存在较大误差。复杂沉积环境中近代沉积的定年,有必要深度挖掘~(137)Cs环境行为,在全面阐述其蓄积特点的基础上,辅以SCP计数、粒度指标及降水等识别事件性沉积层位,矫正~(210)Pb计年,是精确建立近代沉积时标的必要方法。     

Accumulation rates and sources of sediments and organic carbon on the Palos Verdes shelf based on radioisotopic tracers (137Cs, 239,240Pu, 210Pb, 234Th, 238U and 14C)

We report here bioturbation and sediment accumulation rates determined from replicate sediment cores at four different sampling sites on the Palos Verdes shelf, Southern California, using bomb fallout and natural radionuclides (¹³⁷Cs, ^239,240Pu, ²¹⁰Pb, ²³⁴Th, and ¹⁴C), along with supporting measurements of organic carbon (OC), porosity and granulometry. Present-day particle reworking, on time scales of several months, is restricted to the upper 3 cm, with rates ranging from 13 to 200 cm²/year, as deduced from ²³⁴Th_xs profiles. There is little evidence that particle reworking reached depths significantly greater than 5 cm. Post-1963 (or post-1971) sediment accumulation rates ranged from 0.7 to 1.4 g/cm²/year (equivalent to 1.1–1.8 cm/year for surficial sediments), as calculated from Pu and Cs isotope profiles, with little change over time or distance from the outfall. Lateral transport of older sediment and multiple sediment sources on the Palos Verdes shelf is suggested from radiocarbon measurements on foraminifera and bulk sedimentary organic matter at two sampling sites, which showed variable, old and refractory sources of OC. Pre-1953 sediments accumulated at rates that were at least 0.4 g/cm²/year (≥0.3 cm/year), based on ²¹⁰Pb_xs dating. Given the abundance of sediment sources to the Palos Verdes shelf, the high sedimentation rates, and shallow particle mixed layers, contaminant-enriched layers should continue to move deeper into the sediments.     

The use of tracers to evaluate the importance of bioturbation in remobilising contaminants in Baltic sediments

Large areas of the bottom sediments of the Baltic Sea are temporarily or permanently anoxic. These sediments are also an important sink for a variety of contaminants. Reoxygenation of bottom waters allows recolonisation by benthic infauna, which may have important implications for the fate of buried contaminants. This study used tracers to experimentally examine the role of bioturbation by benthic infauna in transporting sediment-associated contaminants in the Baltic Sea. Three different tracer methods were used in two experiments, using three key Baltic macrofaunal species: the amphipod crustacean Monoporeia affinis; the Baltic clam Macoma baltica; and the priapulid worm Halicryptus spinulosus. In the first experiment, a reoxygenation–recolonisation scenario was recreated in the laboratory, using hypoxic sediment cores collected in the field, to determine if there was remobilisation of buried ¹³⁷Cs from the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986. The potential for the infauna to bury newly settled surface contamination was also investigated, using a fluorescent particle tracer. In the second experiment, artificially-created radiolabelled tracer layers (¹⁴C and ⁵¹Cr) were used to quantify both upward and downward movements of organic matter and sediment-associated contaminants by bioturbation.In both experiments there were clear visual differences between the sediment effects of the three species. Halicryptus spinulosus buried deepest into the sediment, creating a network of burrows, Monoporeia affinis burrowed actively in the upper few centimeters of the sediment, and Macoma baltica was quite stationary, but appeared to filter- and deposit feed at the sediment surface. Mixing depths in the hypoxic sediment varied from 4.0 ± 3.5 cm for M. baltica to 7.8 ± 2.1 cm for H. spinulosus. Biodiffusion rates (D_b) were similar for all treatments but biotransport rates (r) were significantly different between treatments, mainly due to a high r value for H. spinulosus. In the experiment with radiolabelled tracer layers, ⁵¹Cr was transported more than ¹⁴C, and tracer originally at the surface transported more than tracer buried 4 cm below the surface. There was also transport of all tracers in treatments without added macrofauna. The most likely explanation is bioturbation by the meiofauna that were undoubtedly present in both experiments.Bioturbation by macrofauna both buries surface contaminants and remobilises those that are buried, but the effects are small and on a similar scale to transport caused by meiofauna. In addition, ¹³⁷Cs profiles at the hypoxic site indicated that resuspension and redeposition of sediment by physical processes had occurred, and also showed that contaminants from the last 40 years were still present in the top 5–10 cm of the sediment, well within active mixing depths. At this site, as at many others in the Baltic, physical processes are likely to be far more important than biological processes in the redistribution of contaminants on a decadal timescale.     

Processes affecting long-term changes in <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs concentration in surface sediments off Fukushima

Temporal changes in cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) concentrations in the surface (0–10 cm) layer of seabed sediment were quantified from continuous observation data at 71 stations within a 150-km radius of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, and the primary processes affecting temporal changes were identified. From March 2011 to the end of 2015, about 80% of the initially deposited ¹³⁷Cs in the surface sediment in the coastal region (bottom depth ≤100 m) region has dissipated (radioactive decay is not included). Such a remarkable change in the ¹³⁷Cs concentration was not observed in the offshore (>100 m) region. This paper focuses on the following three processes that affected the decrease in the ¹³⁷Cs concentrations, and assesses their relative importance; (1) resuspension and transport of ¹³⁷Cs-bound sediment, (2) desorption of ¹³⁷Cs from the sediment, and (3) dilution of ¹³⁷Cs by vertical mixing of sediment. Consequently, it was estimated that the first two processes together have potentially contributed to reduce the ¹³⁷Cs inventory in the top 10 cm of the coastal region by at most 35%. Furthermore, by applying a pulse input sediment mixing model to the observed vertical distribution of sedimentary ¹³⁷Cs, it was also estimated that more than 43% of the ¹³⁷Cs in the surface sediment was transported to deeper sediment layers by vertical mixing of the sediment. This indicates that the decrease of ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in coastal sediments was mainly affected by mixing of ¹³⁷Cs-bound surface sediment with less contaminated sediment in the deeper layers.     

东海沿岸海底沉积物中的^137Cs,^210Pb分布及其沉积环境解释

通过对东海沿岸不同海区８个沉积柱样的１３７Ｃｓ或２１０Ｐｂ剖面的观测,运用１３７Ｃｓ时标法和２１０Ｐｂ过剩法估算了近几十年来的平均沉积速率。并对１３７Ｃｓ的区域分布与蓄积程度及其环境意义进行了初步探讨     

The study of mixing rates and sedimentation rates in Meizhou Bay sediments

-The applicability of the doubie-layer model for 210Pb chronology in coastal marine environments was discussed,which is successfully used in the study of mixing rates and sedimentation rates in Meizhou Bay. Differences among sedimentation rates deduced from 210Pb, 210Po, and 137Cs were compared. Mixing rates in the sediment surface layer were determined by means of excess 234Th.     

Recent volumetric changes in salt marsh soils

Salt marsh sediment volume decreases from organic decomposition, compaction of solids, and de-watering, and each of these processes may change with age. Variability in the vertical accretion rate within the upper 2 m was determined by assembling results from concurrent application of the ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb dating techniques used to estimate sediment age since 1963/1964, and 0 to ca 100+ years before present (yBP), respectively. The relationship between ²¹⁰Pb and the ¹³⁷Cs dated accretion rates (Sed₂₁₀ and Sed₁₃₇, respectively) was linear for 45 salt marsh and mangrove environments. Sed₂₁₀ averaged 75% of Sed₁₃₇ suggesting that vertical accretion over the last 100+ years is driven by soil organic matter accumulation, as shown for the pre ¹³⁷Cs dated horizon. The ratio of Sed₂₁₀/Sed₁₃₇ declines with increasing mineral content. A linear multiple regression equation that includes bulk density and Sed₁₃₇ to predict Sed₂₁₀ described 97% of the variance in Sed₂₁₀. Sediments from Connecticut, Delaware and Louisiana coastal environments dated with ¹⁴C indicate a relatively constant sediment accretion rate of 0.13 cm year⁻¹ for 1000–7000 yBP, which occurs within 2 m of today's marsh surface and equals modern sea level rise rates. Soil subsidence is not shown to be distinctly different in these vastly different coastal settings. The major reason why the Sed₁₃₇ measurements indicate higher accretion rates than do the Sed₂₁₀ measurements is because the former apply to younger sediments where the effects of root growth and decomposition are greater than in the latter. The most intense rates of change in soil volume in organic-rich salt marshes sediments is, therefore, neither in deep or old sediments (>4 m; >1000 years), but within the first several hundreds of years after accumulation. The average changes in organic and inorganic constituents downcore are nearly equal for 58 dated sediment cores from the northern Gulf of Mexico. These parallel changes downcore are best described as resulting from compaction, rather than from organic matter decomposition. Thus most of the volumetric changes in these salt marsh sediments occurs in the upper 2 m, and declines quickly with depth. Extrapolation forwards or backwards, using results from the ²¹⁰Pb and the ¹³⁷Cs dating technique appear to be warranted for the types of samples from the environments described here.     

Radiocaesium and 210Pb in Clyde sea loch sediments

Analysis of ²¹⁰Pb, ²²⁶Ra, ¹³⁷Cs and ¹³⁴Cs in short sediment cores provide first estimates of deposition rates in some Clyde sea lochs. The radio-caesium nuclides originate mainly in the liquid effluent released at distance from the Clyde by the Windscale nuclear fuel reprocessing plant and their concentrations in Clyde sediments provide information on (a) enrichment factors onto particulate matter, (b) surficial mixing coefficients and (c) sedimentation rates. A radiocaesium residence time in coastal waters of ca. 10³ years reflects the importance of scavenging by the high nearshore particulate flux. ²¹⁰Pb levels in sediments are controlled, in the unsupported fraction, by a major input sorbed on catchment particulates and, in the supported component, by ²²⁶Ra activities occasionally perturbed by unusually high surface values probably of planktonic origin. In one loch, detectable levels of ¹³⁴Cs and ⁶⁰Co are attributed to their discharge by nuclear submarines.     

Detecting environmental change in estuaries: Nutrient and heavy metal distributions in sediment cores in estuaries from the Gulf of Finland,Baltic Sea

Historical sediment nutrient concentrations and heavy metal distributions were studied in four estuaries in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea to examine the response of these estuaries to temporal changes in human activities. Cores were collected using a 1-m Mackereth corer and dated using ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs. The cores were analyzed for total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), organic phosphorus (OP), inorganic phosphorus (IP), biogenic silica (BSi), loss-on-ignition (LOI), Cu, Zn, Al, Fe, Mn, K, Ca, Mg and Na. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to summarize the trends in the chemical variables and to compare the trends at the different sites. Applying the 1986 ¹³⁷Cs date as a reference point, ²¹⁰Pb chronologies were constructed for the sites using either the CRS model or a composite model (using both CIC and CRS). Significant increases were observed in sedimentation rates, TP and TN concentrations in all of the cores. Copper showed clear increases from 1850 towards present at all sites. Furthermore, redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to correlate environmental variables (catchment land use, catchment size, estuary surface area, depth and lake percentage) to sediment geochemistry. Based on redundancy analysis (RDA), the percentage of agriculture in the catchment was the most important factor affecting the sediment accumulation rate. Urban land-use types and industry correlate well with sediment Cu and Ca concentrations. Forest areas were related to high sediment BSi concentrations. Catchment land use was the most significant factor affecting sediment geochemical composition and sediment accumulation rates in these coastal embayments. Our results demonstrate that the coastal estuaries of the Gulf of Finland respond to the increased nutrient loading with the increased sedimentation and nutrient accumulation rates.     

Bioturbation depths, rates and processes in Massachusetts Bay sediments inferred from modeling of Pb and Pu profiles

Profiles of ²¹⁰Pb and ^{239 + 240}Pu from sediment cores collected throughout Massachusetts Bay (water depths of 36–192 m) are interpreted with the aid of a numerical sediment-mixing model to infer bioturbation depths, rates and processes. The nuclide data suggest extensive bioturbation to depths of 25–35 cm. Roughly half the cores have ²¹⁰Pb and ^{239 + 240}Pu profiles that decrease monotonically from the surface and are consistent with biodiffusive mixing. Bioturbation rates are reasonably well constrained by these profiles and vary from 0.7 to 40 cm² yr⁻¹. As a result of this extensive reworking, however, sediment ages cannot be accurately determined from these radionuclides and only upper limits on sedimentation rates (of 0.3 cm yr⁻¹) can be inferred. The other half of the radionuclide profiles are characterized by subsurface maxima in each nuclide, which cannot be reproduced by biodiffusive mixing models. A numerical model is used to demonstrate that mixing caused by organisms that feed at the sediment surface and defecate below the surface can cause the subsurface maxima, as suggested by previous work. The deep penetration depths of excess ²¹⁰Pb and ^{239 + 240}Pu suggest either that the organisms release material over a range of >15 cm depth or that biodiffusive mixing mediated by other organisms is occurring at depth. Additional constraints from surficial sediment ²³⁴Th data suggest that in this half of the cores, the vast majority of the present-day flux of recent, nuclide-bearing material to these core sites is transported over a timescale of a month or more to a depth of a few centimeters below the sediment surface. As a consequence of the complex mixing processes, surface sediments include material spanning a range of ages and will not accurately record recent changes in contaminant deposition.     

239,240Pu and137Cs in the East China and the Yellow Seas

The distribution and inventory of artificial radionuclides,^239,240Pu and¹³⁷Cs were determined in the East China and the Yellow Seas in 1987. Almost all of^239,240Pu and 50 to 80% of¹³⁷Cs in the continental shelf area are retained in the sediment column.^239,240Pu sediment inventory in the sea area is larger than the fallout input and tends to increase southwardly. This excess^239,240Pu and the lateral distribution are attributable to the supply of^239,240Pu by the Yangtze River discharge. On the contrary,¹³⁷Cs sediment inventory shows a decrease to the south, and the fact can be accounted for by the southward dispersion of fine silt particles discharged from the Yellow River. Total¹³⁷Cs inventory is smaller than the estimated fallout input, and the fact seems to indicate dispersion of¹³⁷Cs out of the shelf region. Vertical profiles of^239,240Pu and¹³⁷Cs contents in sediments differ from that of natural²¹⁰Pb, implying the effect of varied accumulation rates of the artificial radionuclides over the sediment particle mixing by benthic organisms. Apparent maximum sediment particle mixing coefficient (D _B ) calculated from the excess²¹⁰Pb profiles in stations located between the inner and outer shelves ranged from 1.4 to 8.3 cm²y^–1. ThisD _B value is higher than that in the Okinawa Trough (1.0 cm²y^–1), but lower than previously estimatedD _B value (26 cm²y^–1) in the outer shelf mud.     

Decadal-scale sediment dynamics and environmental change in the Albemarle Estuarine System, North Carolina

During the summer of 2001, several short cores (<50 cm) were collected in the Albemarle Estuarine System (AES). Down-core measurements for radiochemical tracers (²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs) and organic matter signatures (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, C:N ratio, and LOI) have been used to elucidate potential temporal changes in fluxes and cycles of organic matter in the AES. Pb-210 geochronology indicates temporal and spatial variations in sediment deposition rates (0.08–0.57 cm y⁻¹) with highest rates near the AES western limit relative to the rest of the estuary. Low accumulation rates, deficient excess ²¹⁰Pb inventories, and near linear ¹³⁷Cs profiles throughout the AES suggest that sediments are resuspended by wind-generated waves and currents and flushed from the system by river discharge and wind-tides, probably to Pamlico Sound to the south. Sediments in the AES are accumulating at rates less than the current rate of relative sea-level rise for this region except in protected portions of the estuary. Thus sediment accumulation in the AES is controlled in the short term by storm wave-base and in the long term by the creation of accommodation space by basin subsidence and sea-level rise. The geochemical and sedimentological data characterize the evolution of the Albemarle Sound and associated tributaries over the past 200–300 years. The majority of cores collected throughout the system show a significant decrease in ¹³C and increase in ¹⁵N isotopic signatures up-core. Thus, the estuarine system of eastern North Carolina has changed from a marine-influenced, high brackish environment to the modern-day system, which is a highly variable, terrestrially influenced, low brackish environment.     

Modern sediment characteristics and accumulation rates from the delta front to prodelta of the Yellow River (Huanghe)

Since 1976, the main channel of the Yellow River (Huanghe) has been on the east side of the delta complex, and the river has prograded a broad new delta lobe in Laizhou Bay of the Bohai Sea. In 2012, extensive bathymetric and high-resolution seismic profiles were conducted and sediment cores were collected off the new delta lobe. This study examined delta sedimentation and morphology along a profile across the modern subaqueous Yellow River delta and into Laizhou Bay, by analyzing sediment radionuclides (¹³⁷Cs, ²¹⁰Pb and ⁷Be), sedimentary structure, grain-size composition, organic carbon content, and morphological changes between 1976 and 2012. The change in the bathymetric profile, longitudinal to the river’s course, reveals subaqueous delta progradation during this period. The subbottom boundary between the new delta lobe sediment and the older seafloor sediment (before the 1976 course shift) was identified in terms of lithology and radionuclide distributions, and recognized as a downlap surface in the seismic record. The accumulation rate of the new delta lobe sediment is estimated to be 5–18.6 cm year^–1 on the delta front slope, 2 cm year^–1 at the toe of the slope, and 1–2 cm year^–1 in the shelf areas of Laizhou Bay. Sediment facies also change offshore, from alternations of gray and brown sediment in the proximal area to gray bioturbated fine sediment in the distal area. Based on ⁷Be distribution, the shorter-term deposition rate was at least 20 cm year^–1 in the delta front.     

Variability in Particle Mixing Rates in Sediments with Polymetallic Nodules in the Equatorial Eastern Pacific as Determined from Measurements of Excess <Superscript>210</Superscript>Pb

Radionuclide activities of ²¹⁰Pb and ²²⁶Ra were measured to determine bioturbation coefficients (D_b) in seven sediment cores from the Korean licensed block for polymetallic nodules in the Clarion–Clipperton Fracture Zone. Variability in D_b is considered in the context of the sedimentological, geochemical, and geotechnical properties of the sediments. D_b values in the studied cores were estimated using a steady-state diffusion model and varied over a wide range from 1.1 to 293 cm²/yr with corresponding mixing depths (L) of 26 to 144 cm. When excepting for spurious results obtained from cores where diffusive mixing does not apply, D_b values range from 1.1 to 9.0 cm²/yr with corresponding mixing depths (L) of 26 to 63 cm. Such wide variability in D_b and L values is exceptional in sites with water depths of ～5000 m and is attributed in this study to an uneven distribution of sediment layers with different shear strengths and total organic carbon (TOC) contents, caused by erosion events. The studied cores can be grouped into two categories based on lithologic associations: layers with high maximum shear strength (MSS) and low TOC content, showing a narrow range of D_b values (1.1–9.0 cm²/yr); and layers with low MSS and high TOC content, yielding much higher D_b values of over 30 cm²/yr. The distribution of different lithologies, and the resultant spatial variability in MSS and labile organic matter content, controls the presence and maximum burrowing depth of infauna by affecting their mobility and the availability of food. This study provides a unique case showing that shear strength, which relates to the degree of sediment consolidation, might be an important factor in controlling rates of bioturbation and sediment mixing depths.     

The process of self-purification of the Baltic Sea waters from artificial radionuclides

An analysis of the variations in the concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr radionuclides in the Baltic Sea surface waters after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was performed. An instability of the ¹³⁷Cs concentration values during the short-term observations was found, when these values were differed 2-to 3-fold. The concentrations of ⁹⁰Sr appeared to be more stable; meanwhile, their deviations sometimes exceeded the ranges of the experimental errors. By the variations in the monthly average values of the radionuclide concentrations in the surface waters of the Baltic Sea in 1989–1995, no trend of the water self-purification was observed. The theoretical results obtained confirmed the potential of the formation and propagation of patches with increased concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs in the southeastern part of the Baltic Sea. The most reliable factor that controlled the process of self-purification of the Baltic Sea water appeared to be the mean annual value of the concentration of radionuclides. Pronounced divergences were obtained between the measured and calculated mean annual concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr radionuclides in the surface waters of the Baltic Sea in 1989–2001. These divergences are explained by the potential influence of the waters from the Gulf of Bothnia and by other additional supplies of radionuclides to the marine environment, which were not included into the mathematical models.     

Chlorophyll a in Arctic sediments implies long persistence of algal pigments

Sediment cores were collected from the shelf, slope, and basin of the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas during May–June (under ice cover) and July–August (largely ice-free) 2004. Measurements of chlorophyll a (chl a), total organic carbon (TOC), and C/N ratios were made in surface and some subsurface core increments. Surface sediment chl a decreased with increasing water depth. Significant positive correlations were found between chl a and TOC and chl a and C/N ratios in the basin (>2000 m), but there were significant negative correlations between chl a and C/N ratios on the shelf (⩽200 m). Chl a values generally declined in down-core profiles, but in some deeper slope and basin cores, measurable inventories of subsurface chl a were present at depth. In some cases, these subsurface chlorophyll inventories coincident with peak activities of the anthropogenic radionuclide ¹³⁷Cs were detected, which had maximal deposition following the atmospheric nuclear weapons testing era in the 1960s. A sedimentation rate independently determined for one of these cores using ²¹⁰Pb was consistent with the depths of subsurface ¹³⁷Cs peaks in slope sediments reflecting steady, relatively undisturbed deposition over a several-decade period. The depth of penetration of ¹³⁷Cs in some continental slope sediments, together with detectable chl a, suggests that chl a can be buried in some of these deeper-water sediments under cold conditions for decadal periods in the absence of deposit feeders. Because organic deposition from the water column is episodic at high latitudes and concentrated following the spring bloom, these buried sources of organic materials, whether on the shelf or in deeper basin sediments, may ultimately be important for benthic invertebrates that could utilize this food source during times of the year when primary production flux from the overlying water column is reduced.     

Quantitative evaluation of bioturbation rates in deep ocean sediments. II. Comparison of rates determined by 210Pb and 239,240Pu

Excess ²¹⁰Pb was determined in six abyssal cores from the Eastern Atlantic, Hatteras Abyssal Plain, and Puerto Rico Trench. A bioturbation rate for each core was evaluated using the mixing model of Guinasso and Schink. The rates were compared to mixing rates evaluated for the same cores using ^239,240Pu. In all cases, the excess ²¹⁰Pb-derived mixing rates were lower than the plutonium-derived mixing rates. ^239,240Pu was also present at greater depths than excess ²¹⁰Pb. One possible explanation for these observations is the association of plutonium with particles of greater food value which are bioturbated at faster rates.     

Simple coprecipitation method combined with low-background γ-spectrometry: Determination of 7Be, 137Cs, 210Pb, and radium and thorium isotopes in small-volume coastal water samples

Application of a coprecipitation method combined with low-background γ-spectrometry allowed the isolation of ⁷Be, ¹³⁷Cs, ²¹⁰Pb, and radium and thorium isotopes together with BaSO₄, Fe(OH)₃, or AMP/Cs in 18 L of coastal water. This simple method showed high chemical yields of 77–91% (mean, 85%) for ²¹⁰Pb and radium isotopes, 87–92% (mean, 91%) for 7Be and thorium isotopes, and 98% for ¹³⁷Cs. The activity of the nuclides showed good reproducibility with standard deviations of 1–8%, while the deviation of activity in particle-reactive ²¹⁰Pb (32%) and ⁷Be (21%) in filtered water samples was exceptionally large.     

Sedimentation and mixing rates of radionuclides in Barents Sea sediments off Novaya Zemlya

Radionuclide measurements have been conducted on sediment cores collected in 1992 in the south-eastern region of the Barents Sea, known as the Pechora Sea. Cesium-137 and ^239,24OPu activities in surface sediments are generally less than 30 Bq/kg, with the highest levels being measured in sediments off the southwestern coastline of the island of Novaya Zemlya. High correlations between both ¹³⁷Cs and ^239,24OPu and the concentration of fine (< 63 μm) particles in surface sediments indicate that much of the variance in radionuclide concentrations throughout the Pechora Sea can be explained by particle size fractionation. However, elevated activities of ¹³⁷Cs (138 Bq/kg), ⁶⁰Co (92 Bq/kg), ²⁴¹Am (433 Bq/kg), and especially ^239,24OPu (8.47 × 103 Bq/kg) were measured in one surface sediment sample from the fjord of Chernaya Bay on the southern coast of Novaya Zemlya. The source of radioactive contamination is two underwater nuclear tests conducted in Chernaya Bay in 1955 and 1957.The ²³⁸Pu/^239,240Vu activity ratio of 0.0245 in Chernaya Bay is equivalent to values measured in global fallout. The ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu atom ratio (0.0304), measured by mass spectrometry, is much lower than values (0.18) typical of global fallout, but is consistent with ratios measured for fallout from the early (1951–1955) series of weapons tests at the Nevada Test Site. The timing of the Chernaya Bay source term, estimated from the ²⁴¹Am/²⁴¹Pu ratio, is consistent with the timing of the 1955 and 1957 underwater nuclear tests. Relatively low initial yields of ²⁴¹Pu (²⁴¹Pu/²³⁹Pu atom RATIO = 0.00 123) in these tests have resulted in relatively low ²⁴¹Am/^239,240Pu activity ratios (0.05) in recent sediments in Chernaya Bay.Radionuclide tracer profiles in cores from the Pechora Sea can be simulated using a two-layer biodiffusion model with rapid, near-homogeneous mixing in the surface mixed layer and reduced mixing in the deep layer. Lead-210 profiles are consistent with a wide range of sedimentation and mixing rates in the deep sediment layer. However, the ¹³7Cs and ^239,240Pu results further constrain the model parameters and indicate that the downward transport of radionuclides in the sediments is governed primarily by sediment mixing, with sediment burial playing a secondary role.