title: Estimation of vertical migration velocity of (137)Cs in the Mount IDA/Kazdagi, Turkey.
abstract: This paper presents the results obtained from a radioecological study carried out in the forest sites of Mount IDA (Kazdagi)/Edremit, Turkey. For 118 soil profiles, the depth distribution of (137)Cs activity was established by fitting the experimental points to an exponential, a gaussian or a log-normal function. The relaxation lengths were in the range of 1.09-16.7 cm with a mean of 5.73 cm, showing a slow transport and a strong retention capacity of (137)Cs even after the 26-y period of Chernobyl accident. From the data for the vertical distribution of (137)Cs in soil profiles, the mean annual migration velocity of (137)Cs was in the range of 0.11-0.62 cm year(-1) with a mean of 0.30 cm year(-1). Statistically significant correlations between the thickness of the humus layer and the mean annual velocity of (137)Cs were found for both coniferous and mixed forest sites. The mean annual velocity of (137)Cs in the forests sites with Pinus nigra var pallasiana was significantly higher than sites with Pinus brutia. External dose-rates from the (137)Cs in forest soils were estimated using a conversion factor used in many studies and comprised with the external dose-rates determined according to the vertical distribution of (137)Cs within the soil depth profiles. It is clearly seen that both levels and spatial distribution patterns of the external dose-rates from (137)Cs were influenced considerably with the vertical migration rate and the vertical distribution of (137)Cs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Dokuz Eylül University, 35160 Tınaztepe, İzmir, Turkey. Electronic address: ozlem.karadeniz@deu.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Özlem
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Karadeniz
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, Institute of Health Sciences, Dokuz Eylül University, 35340 İnciraltı, İzmir, Turkey. Electronic address: rukiye.cakir@ogr.deu.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Rukiye
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Çakır
authors.affiliation: South-eastern Anatolian Forestry Research Institute, 23049 Elazığ, Turkey. Electronic address: hkarakurt@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Hidayet
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karakurt
mesh_terms: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D065928:Forests; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D011847:Radioactive Fallout / Q000032:analysis*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D013997:Time Factors; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D012987:Soil; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive
keywords: Cs-137; External gamma-dose rate; Forest; Mean annual velocity; Vertical migration