Iodine-129 in Snow and Seawater in the Antarctic: Level and Source

Anthropogenic 129 I has been released to the environment in different ways and chemical species by human nuclear activities since the 1940s. These sources provide ideal tools to trace the dispersion of volatile pollutants in the atmosphere. Snow and seawater samples collected in Bellingshausen, Amun...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental Science & Technology
Main Authors: Xing, Shan, Hou, Xiaolin, Aldahan, Ala, Possnert, Göran, Shi, Keliang, Yi, Peng, Zhou, Weijian
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2015
Subjects:
Nuclear fuel reprocessing
Nuclear weapons
Seawater
Snow
Anthropogenic sources
Northern Hemispheres
Nuclear activities
Nuclear weapons testing
Orders of magnitude
Reprocessing plant
Southern Hemisphere
Volatile pollutants
Iodine
/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/life_below_water
name=SDG 14 - Life Below Water
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Antarctica
Online Access:https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/439f7dc7-025e-4115-aa14-4091c150ca40
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b01234
Description
Summary:Anthropogenic 129 I has been released to the environment in different ways and chemical species by human nuclear activities since the 1940s. These sources provide ideal tools to trace the dispersion of volatile pollutants in the atmosphere. Snow and seawater samples collected in Bellingshausen, Amundsen, and Ross Seas in Antarctica in 2011 were analyzed for 129 I and 127 I, including organic forms; it was observed that 129 I/ 127 I atomic ratios in the Antarctic surface seawater ((6.1-13) × 10 -12 ) are about 2 orders of magnitude lower than those in the Antarctic snow ((6.8-9.5) × 10 -10 ), but 4-6 times higher than the prenuclear level (1.5 × 10 -12 ), indicating a predominantly anthropogenic source of 129 I in the Antarctic environment. The 129 I level in snow in Antarctica is 2-4 orders of magnitude lower than that in the Northern Hemisphere, but is not significantly higher than that observed in other sites in the Southern Hemisphere. This feature indicates that 129 I in Antarctic snow mainly originates from atmospheric nuclear weapons testing from 1945 to 1980; resuspension and re-emission of the fallout 129 I in the Southern Hemisphere maintains the 129 I level in the Antarctic atmosphere. 129 I directly released to the atmosphere and re-emitted marine discharged 129 I from reprocessing plants in Europe might not significantly disperse to Antarctica.

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