Status of the transfer state of Cs in zooplankton and surface water fish off Fukushima during 2018-2021.

Radiocaesium introduced to coastal waters by the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station (F1NPS) elevated the radioactivity level in biota. The radionuclide level in zooplankton, concentration of Cs radioactivity in surface water fish decreased rapidly, which was the primary food source for planktivorous fish, was recognized as not to be depurated at the same level prior to the accident. To evaluate the possible cause of this phenomenon, zooplankton and surface water fish were collected off Fukushima during 2018-2021, and the presence of radioactive particles was also examined.

Radioecological behaviour of Cs in rockfish of the southern coastal waters off Fukushima during 2017-2021.

Following the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station, radiocaesium concentrations were specifically elevated in rockfish species compared to other fish species. To clarify the likely reasons, a caesium metabolic rate in the Japanese rockfish Sebastes cheni was derived by an aquarium experiment of live fish collected from the area off Fukushima. Stable caesium and Cs concentration in prey organisms, stomach contents and muscle of rockfish were measured and the bioavailable fraction in prey organisms was evaluated.

Fukushima-derived radiocesium in the western subarctic area of the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean in 2019 and 2020.

We measured dissolved radiocesium (Cs and Cs) in surface seawater collected in the western subarctic area of the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean in 2019 and 2020. The radiocesium released from the accident of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant (FNPP1) in 2011 was still observed in these areas (∼2 Bq m decay-corrected to the date of the accident). In 2019/2020, the FNPP1-derived radiocesium concentrations in the Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean connecting the Bering Sea to the Arctic Ocean, were within the range of those observed in 2017/2018.

Zonal and vertical transports of Fukushima-derived radiocesium in the subarctic gyre of the North Pacific until 2014.

The Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP1) accident in March 2011 resulted in serious radiocesium contamination of the North Pacific Ocean. Most of the radiocesium was dissolved in seawater and transported by surface currents and subduction of mode waters. Within several years after the accident, a high-concentration water plume of the FNPP1-derived radiocesium at the sea surface had been transported from Japan to the North American continent across the subarctic gyre of the North Pacific Ocean.

Reconstruction of radiocesium levels in sediment off Fukushima: Simulation analysis of bioavailability using parameters derived from observed Cs concentrations.

Radiocesium was released to the North Pacific coastal waters by the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (1FNPP) of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in March 2011. Since the radiocesium in the sediment off Fukushima was suggested as a possible source for the transfer of this radionuclide through the benthic food chain, we conducted numerical simulations of Cs in sediments off the Fukushima coast by using a model which incorporates dynamic transfer processes between seawater and the labile and refractory fractions in sediment particles. This model reproduced the measured temporal changes of Cs concentration in seabed surface sediment off Fukusima coasts, by normalizing the radiocsium transfer between seawater and sediment according to the particle diameter sizes.

Mechanisms of radiocesium depuration in Sebastes cheni derived by simulation analysis of measured Cs concentrations off southern Fukushima 2014-2016.

The cesium depuration mechanisms were studied in Japanese rockfish Sebastes cheni off Fukushima, in which the radiocesium level remains higher than in other teleost. Samples were collected approximately 5 km south from the nuclear power plant during 2014-2016, and the Cs concentrations in fish, stomach content and prey species were measured. The stable cesium content in fish was also analyzed and compared with fish age which was determined by annual ring analysis in otoliths.

Radiocesium in North Pacific coastal and offshore areas of Japan within several months after the Fukushima accident.

We measured activity concentrations of radiocesium (Cs and Cs) in seawater samples collected in North Pacific coastal and offshore areas of Japan within several months after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP1) accident in March 2011, including archived seawater samples whose radiocesium concentrations were previously reported to be below detection limits. By merging 329 new data with published results, we succeeded in reconstructing the temporal changes in activity concentrations and inventories of FNPP1-derived radiocesium in the coastal and offshore areas within several months after the accident for the first time. Cs directly-discharged from the FNPP1 was transported eastward within the coastal area about 250 km from the FNPP1 during two months after the accident due to complex movements of coastal surface currents.

Time evolution of Fukushima-derived radiocesium in the western subtropical gyre of the North Pacific Ocean by 2017.

In 2015-2017, we measured activity concentration of radiocesium in the western subtropical gyre of the North Pacific Ocean and revealed the time evolution of radiocesium derived from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP1) accident between 2011 and 2017. The FNPP1-derived radiocesium deposited on the area south of the Kuroshio/Kuroshio Extension Currents in March 2011 was transported southward and westward through subsurface layers due to subduction of the subtropical mode water. In 2014, the radiocesium in the subsurface layers returned to the north and circulated within the Kuroshio recirculation area.

Radiocaesium derived from the TEPCO Fukushima accident in the North Pacific Ocean: Surface transport processes until 2017.

We report temporal variations of Cs activity concentrations in surface waters of six regions of the western and central North Pacific Ocean during 2011-2017 using a combination of 1264 previously published data and 42 new data. In the western and central North Pacific Ocean at latitudes of 30-42°N and longitudes of 140°E to 160°W, eastward transport of radiocaesium was clearly apparent. Cs activity concentrations in surface water decreased rapidly to ∼2-3 Bq m in 2015/2016, still a bit higher than Cs activity concentrations before the FNPP1 accident (1.

Temporal changes in radiocesium contamination derived from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in oceanic zooplankton in the western North Pacific.

We investigated temporal changes of the contamination of oceanic zooplankton with radiocesium (Cs and Cs) derived from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident one month to three years after the accident at subarctic and subtropical stations (1900 and 900-1000 km from the plant, respectively) in the western North Pacific. The maximum activity concentrations of Cs in zooplankton were two orders of magnitude higher than the pre-accident level. In the first four months after the accident, the activity concentrations of radiocesium in subtropical zooplankton decreased rapidly, but no similar change was observed at the subarctic station.

Radiocesium in the western subarctic area of the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean in 2013 and 2014.

We measured radiocesium (Cs and Cs) in seawater from the western subarctic area of the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean in 2013 and 2014. Fukushima-derived Cs in surface seawater was observed in the western subarctic area and Bering Sea but not in the Arctic Ocean. Vertical profile of Cs in the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean implies that Fukushima-derived Cs intruded into the basin from the Bering Sea through subsurface (150m depth) in 2014.

Fukushima-derived radiocesium in the western North Pacific in 2014.

In 2014, we measured activity concentration of radiocesium in the western North Pacific Ocean. In the north of Kuroshio Front high activity concentration of Fukushima-derived radiocesium in surface mixed layer in 2012 had been transported eastward by 2014. In the south of the front we found a radiocesium subsurface maximum in 200-600 m depth, which was similar to that observed in 2012.

Recirculation of FNPP1-derived radiocaesium observed in winter 2015/2016 in coastal regions of Japan.

We conducted enhanced surface water sampling at more than 80 stations in coastal regions on both the Japan Sea and Pacific Ocean sides of Japan in winter 2015/2016 to examine the recirculation behaviour of FNPP1-derived radiocaesium in the surface layer 5 years after the 2011 FNPP1 accident. We found that a small part of the FNPP1-derived radiocaesium had already recirculated in the surface layer and reached the Japanese coast.

Impact of Fukushima-derived radiocesium in the western North Pacific Ocean about ten months after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident.

We measured vertical distributions of radiocesium ((134)Cs and (137)Cs) at stations along the 149°E meridian in the western North Pacific during winter 2012, about ten months after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP1) accident. The Fukushima-derived (134)Cs activity concentration and water-column inventory were largest in the transition region between 35 and 40°N approximately due to the directed discharge of the contaminated water from the FNPP1. The bomb-derived (137)Cs activity concentration just before the FNPP1 accident was derived from the excess (137)Cs activity concentration relative to the (134)Cs activity concentration.

Southward spreading of the Fukushima-derived radiocesium across the Kuroshio Extension in the North Pacific.

The accident of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in March 2011 released a large amount of radiocesium into the North Pacific Ocean. Vertical distributions of Fukushima-derived radiocesium were measured at stations along the 149°E meridian in the western North Pacific during the winter of 2012. In the subtropical region, to the south of the Kuroshio Extension, we found a subsurface radiocesium maximum at a depth of about 300 m.

Spatial variations of low levels of ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs in seawaters within the Sea of Japan after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.

Our method based on low background γ-spectrometry enabled the measurement of low radiocesium concentrations in only 20 L of seawater. In May 2011 after deposition of radiocesium, (134)Cs concentration in surface water within the Sea of Japan was confirmed to be significantly small (<0.1-1 mBq/L) by the method.

Radar-enabled recovery of the Sutter's Mill meteorite, a carbonaceous chondrite regolith breccia.

Doppler weather radar imaging enabled the rapid recovery of the Sutter's Mill meteorite after a rare 4-kiloton of TNT-equivalent asteroid impact over the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in northern California. The recovered meteorites survived a record high-speed entry of 28.6 kilometers per second from an orbit close to that of Jupiter-family comets (Tisserand's parameter = 2.

Spatial variations of 226Ra, 228Ra, 137Cs, and 228Th activities in the southwestern Okhotsk Sea.

We collected 14 water column seawater samples in the southwestern Okhotsk Sea and 7 surface samples around the northern area of Hokkaido Island, Northern Japan, and employed low-background γ-spectrometry with convenient minimal radiochemical processing to determine the activities of (226)Ra (half-life t(1/2)=1600 y), (228)Ra (5.75 y), (137)Cs (30.2 y), and (228)Th (1.

Ogoya underground laboratory for the measurement of extremely low levels of environmental radioactivity: review of recent projects carried out at OUL.

Recent topical measurements performed in the Ogoya Underground Laboratory are briefly summarized. The paper deals mainly with the following topics: measurements of variations of airborne 222Rn, 210Pb, 210Po and 7Be with high temporal resolution; the depth profile of 137Cs in Pacific water collected in 1957; cosmic-ray-induced 22Na in surface air, rain, river and lake waters; 152Eu in granite exposed to the Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima in 1945; and depleted uranium used in the Iraq War 2003.