A new certified reference material IAEA-465 for radionuclides in Baltic Sea sediment.

Certified reference material (CRM) for natural (K,Pb,Po,Ra,Ra,Th,Th,Th,U,U, andU) and anthropogenic (Cs,Pu, andAm) radionuclides in marine sediment from the Baltic Sea (IAEA-465) has been developed. Information values are given for Pu,Pu andPu. Altogether 27 laboratories participated in this exercise.

Anthropogenic U and U in the Baltic Sea: Distributions, source terms, and budgets.

The Baltic Sea receives substantial amounts of hazardous substances and nutrients, which accumulate for decades and persistently impair the Baltic ecosystems. With long half-lives and high solubility, anthropogenic uranium isotopes (U and U) are ideal tracers to depict the ocean dynamics in the Baltic Sea and the associated impacts on the fates of contaminants. However, their applications in the Baltic Sea are hampered by the inadequate source-term information.

Chernobyl still with us: Caesium activity contents in seabed sediments from the Gulf of Bothnia, northern Baltic Sea.

Anthropogenic radionuclides are among those human impacts, which can be seen widely in the marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident has rendered the Baltic Sea as the most polluted marine body in the world with respect to Cs. This research investigated sediment cores from 56 sites around the Gulf of Bothnia, Baltic Sea.

Cyanobacterial Akinete Distribution, Viability, and Cyanotoxin Records in Sediment Archives From the Northern Baltic Sea.

Cyanobacteria of the order Nostocales, including Baltic Sea bloom-forming taxa , and spp., produce resting stages, known as akinetes, under unfavorable conditions. These akinetes can persist in the sediment and germinate if favorable conditions return, simultaneously representing past blooms and possibly contributing to future bloom formation.

An unknown source of reactor radionuclides in the Baltic Sea revealed by multi-isotope fingerprints.

We present an application of multi-isotopic fingerprints (i.e., U/U, U/U, U/I and I/I) for the discovery of previously unrecognized sources of anthropogenic radioactivity.