Using geochemical fingerprinting to track the dispersion of radioactive contamination along coastal catchments of the Fukushima Prefecture

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Lepage, Hugo | Laceby, J., Patrick | Evrard, Olivier | Onda, Yuichi | Chartin, Caroline | Lefèvre, Irène | Bonté, Philippe | Ayrault, Sophie

Edité par CCSD -

International audience. Several coastal catchments located in the vicinity of the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Power Plant were impacted contaminatedfallout in March 2011. Following the accident, typhoons and snowmelt runoff events transfer radiocesiumcontamination through the coastal floodplains and ultimately to the Pacific Ocean. Therefore it is important to understandthe location and relative contribution of different erosion sources in order to manage radiocesium transferwithin these coastal catchments and the cumulative export of radiocesium to the Pacific Ocean. Here we presenta sediment fingerprinting approach to determine the relative contributions of sediment from different soil typesto sediment transported throughout two coastal riverine systems. The sediment fingerprinting technique presentedutilizes differences in the elemental geochemistry of the distinct soil types to determine their relative contributionsto sediment sampled in riverine systems. This research is important as it furthers our understanding of dominanterosion sources in the region which will help with ongoing decontamination and monitoring efforts pertaining tothe management of fallout radiocesium migration in the region.

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