The anthropogenic fallout radionuclides in soils of Mount Khuko (the Western Caucasus) and their application for determination of sediment redistribution.

The purposes of this study are to determine the content and origin of anthropogenic fallout radionuclides (FRN) in soils of Mount Khuko, located in the western sector of the Caucasus Mountains and to assess the possibility to use them for evaluation of sediment redistribution for the alpine grasslands,. The field study was carried out in August 2019 near the top of Mount Khuko, located in the western part of the main Caucasus Mountain Ridge. Integral and incremental soil samples were collected from the different morphological units of the studied area.

Use of natural and artificial radionuclides to determine the sedimentation rates in two North Caucasus lakes.

The specific activities of natural (Pb, Ra, and Th) and artificial (Cs, Pu, and Am) radionuclides in the sediments of two North Caucasus lakes were determined. The two lakes, Lake Khuko and Lake Donguz-Orun, differ in their sedimentation conditions. Based on the use of unsupported Pb and both Chernobyl-derived and bomb-derived Cs as chronological markers, it was established that the sedimentation rates in Lake Khuko over the past 55-60 y did not exceed 0.