title: Anthropogenic radionuclides in the Japan Sea: their distributions and transport processes.
abstract: The anthropogenic radionuclides, (90)Sr, (137)Cs and (239+240)Pu, were measured in the water column of the Japan Sea/East Sea during 1997-2000. The vertical profiles of radionuclide concentrations showed: exponential decrease with depth for (90)Sr and (137)Cs, and surface minimum/subsurface maximum for (239+240)Pu. These results do not differ substantially from results reported previously. The area-averaged concentrations of radionuclides in the Japan Sea are higher than those found in the Northwest Pacific Ocean below surface layer showing the accumulation of the radionuclides in the deep waters in the Japan Sea. Concerning spatial distributions, the area of high (137)Cs inventory extends from the Japan Basin into the Yamato Basin. It is suggested that wintertime convection of water, occurring mainly in the Japan Basin, causes the radionuclides to sink. The nuclides then advect into the Yamato Basin after detouring around the Yamato Rise.
authors.affiliation: Marine Research Laboratory, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, 4-24 Minato-machi, Mutsu, 035-0064, Aomori, Japan. tito@popsvr.tokai.jaeri.go.jp
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aramaki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Otosaka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Togawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Senjyu
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Chaykovskaya
authors.forename: E V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Karasev
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Lishavskaya
authors.forename: V P
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Novichkov
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Tkalin
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Shcherbinin
authors.forename: Y N
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Volkov
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007564:Japan; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D012623:Seawater; D014872:Water Movements; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D011868:Radioisotopes; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive