Inventories and Distribution of Radiocaesium in Arctic Marine Sediments: Influence of Biological and Physical Processes

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Abstract
Extensive surveys of sediment burdens of radiocaesium, specifically 137Cs, and other radioactive contaminants in the Arctic during the 1990′s, indicate that almost all anthropogenic radionuclides buried on continental shelves adjacent to Alaska are derived from global bomb fallout. the 137Cs (half-life: 30.2y) activities observed in surface (0–4 cm) marine sediments however, vary widely, albeit much less than the expected current inventory resulting from bomb fallout at this latitude (∼100mBq cm−2). This observed geographical variation provided the opportunity to evaluate physical and biological mechanisms that may affect caesium biogeochemistry on Arctic continental shelves. We investigated whether high biological productivity in portions of the Bering and Chukchi Seas is effective in removing dissolved radiocaesium from the water column, and whether biological production in overlying water affects total radiocaesium inventories in sediments. Based upon C/N ratios in the organic fraction of shallow sediments, we found no evidence that higher inventories or surface activities of radiocaesium are present in areas with higher deposition of particulate organic matter. Based upon stable carbon isotope ratios of organic matter in sediments, we found no evidence that terrestrial runoff contributes proportionally to higher surface activities, although terrestrial runoff may affect total inventories of the radionuclide. Radiocaesium content of surface sediments was significantly correlated with total organic carbon content of sediments and the proportion of sediments in the finest sediment fractions. Because high current flow can also be expected to influence distributions of those sedimentary parameters, we conclude that re-distribution of