Measurements of I in the Pacific Ocean at Scripps Pier and Pacific Northwest sites: A search for effects from the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident and Hanford.

Radionuclides from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant were released directly into the ocean as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. This material became entrained in surface ocean currents and subsequently transported for great distances. In June 2011, a few months after the disaster, we began a surface ocean I monitoring program, with samples from Scripps Pier, La Jolla, California, USA, with the expectation that surface currents originating off the east coast of Japan would eventually carry radionuclides to the La Jolla site.

Reconstructing surface ocean circulation with I time series records from corals.

The long-lived radionuclide I (half-life: 15.7 × 10 yr) is well-known as a useful environmental tracer. At present, the global I in surface water is about 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than pre-1960 levels.

Iodine-129 in seawater offshore Fukushima: distribution, inorganic speciation, sources, and budget.

The Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011 has released a large amount of radioactive pollutants to the environment. Of the pollutants, iodine-129 is a long-lived radionuclide and will remain in the environment for millions of years. This work first report levels and inorganic speciation of (129)I in seawater depth profiles collected offshore Fukushima in June 2011.