AI Article Synopsis
- This study surveyed the presence of both artificial (such as Cs, Am, Bi, Pu isotopes) and natural radionuclides (like Pb, Ac, Bi, K) in cryoconite from Norwegian glaciers.
- Samples from the Blåisen Glacier showed extremely high activity concentrations of certain radionuclides, with cesium levels reaching as high as 25,000 Bq/kg, and notable amounts of organic matter, about 40% of total mass.
- The study suggests that bioaccumulation in organic-rich cryoconite rather than rainfall was the key factor influencing these high radionuclide levels.
Article Abstract
This study is a first survey of the occurrence of artificial (Cs, Am, Bi, Pu isotopes) and natural (Pb, Ac, Bi, K) radionuclides in Norwegian cryoconite. Cryoconite samples were collected before (12 samples) and after (5 samples) a rainfall event, after which 7 cryoconite holes dissapeared. The concentrations of radionuclides in cryoconite samples from the Blåisen Glacier are compared with data from the Arctic and Alpine glaciers. Cryoconite samples from the studied glacier had extremely high activity concentrations of Cs, Am, Bi and Pu (up to 25,000 Bq/kg, 58 Bq/kg, 13 Bq/kg and 131 Bq/kg, respectively) and also high concentrations of organic matter (OM), comparing to other Scandinavian and Arctic glaciers, reaching up to ~40% of total mass. The outstandingly high concentrations of Cs, Am, Pu isotopes, and Bi on the Blåisen Glacier are primarily related to bioaccumulation of radionuclides in organic-rich cryoconite and might be enhanced by additional transfers of contamination from the tundra by lemmings during their population peaks. The presumed influence of intense rainfall on radionuclide concentrations in the cryoconite was not confirmed.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152656 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates uranium (U/U) ratios in environmental samples from the Pamir region to evaluate the influence of human nuclear activity on this remote area.
- The U/U ratios found (ranging from 0.007256 to 0.007263) suggest a slight enrichment of uranium, indicating the presence of anthropogenic materials, particularly in cryoconite compared to soil and water.
- The findings also suggest that while the area shows subtle enrichment of uranium, it remains relatively clean from local contamination, with environmental uranium largely resulting from historical global nuclear fallout rather than local sources.
Ice cap functioned as a sink for radioactive contaminant in the Tibetan Plateau: Evidence from plutonium isotopes.
J Hazard Mater
December 2024
Qilian Alpine Ecology and Hydrology Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Cryoconite is abundant in artificial radionuclides such as plutonium (Pu) and amounts of radioactive contaminants is stored in glaciers. Under global warming and glaciers rapid retreating, glaciers could be a second source for radioactive contaminants and the stored Pu isotopes could be released to the downstream areas through surface runoff. However, the knowledge and understanding on the migration behavior and cycling of Pu isotopes in the ice cap is quite limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSabulicella glaciei sp. nov., Isolated from Glacier, and Reclassification of Roseomonas rubea, Roseomonas ponticola and Roseomonas oleicola as Neoroseomonas rubea comb. nov., Falsiroseomonas ponticola comb. nov. and Falsiroseomonas oleicola comb. nov.
Curr Microbiol
September 2024
China General Microbiological Culture Collection Center, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 1 West Beichen Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, People's Republic of China.
A Gram-stain-negative, short rod-shaped strain, MDT2-1-1, was isolated from cryoconite samples collected from the Midui glacier in Tibet, China. It grew aerobically from 7 to 40 °C, within a pH range of 6.0-10.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRadiological and elemental composition of cryoconite and glacier mice from Vatnajökull, Iceland.
Sci Total Environ
November 2024
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Science, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, United Kingdom.
Cryoconite has been demonstrated to be an efficient accumulator of some classes of contaminants on glaciers in both mountain and polar environments, however the accumulation of contaminants in cryoconite in Iceland has received very little attention to date. To understand the spatial variability of natural and anthropogenic fallout radionuclides and metals on glaciers in Iceland, we present the first study of this region including both cryoconite from three glaciers: Virkisjökull; Skaftafellsjökull; and Falljökull, together with moss balls ('glacier mice') from Falljökull. The cryoconite samples and glacier mice were analysed using XRF spectrometry to assess their elemental composition and gamma spectrometry to identify, and quantify, fallout radionuclides, primarily Be, Cs, Am, excess Pb, and K.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIsotopic signature of plutonium accumulated in cryoconite on glaciers worldwide.
Sci Total Environ
November 2024
Institute of Polar Sciences, National Research Council, Milan, Italy.
Glaciers are recognized as repositories for atmospheric pollutants, however, due to climate change and enhanced melting rates, they are rapidly transitioning from being repositories to secondary sources of such apollutants. Artificial radionuclides are one of the pollutants found on glaciers that efficiently accumulate onto glacier surfaces within cryoconite deposits; a dark, often biogenic sediment. This work provides information about the accumulation, distribution and sources of plutonium (Pu) isotopes in cryoconite samples from glaciers worldwide.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!