Edyta Łokas
Isotopic signature of plutonium accumulated in cryoconite on glaciers worldwide
Łokas, Edyta; Baccolo, Giovanni; Cwanek, Anna; Buda, Jakub; Kołtonik, Katarzyna; Takeuchi, Nozomu; Wachniew, Przemysław; Clason, Caroline; Zawierucha, Krzysztof; Beard, Dylan Bodhi; Ambrosini, Roberto; Pittino, Francesca; Franzetti, Andrea; Owens, Philip N.; Nastasi, Massimiliano; Sisti, Monica; Di Mauro, Biagio
Authors
Giovanni Baccolo
Anna Cwanek
Jakub Buda
Katarzyna Kołtonik
Nozomu Takeuchi
Przemysław Wachniew
Dr Caroline Clason caroline.clason@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor
Krzysztof Zawierucha
Dylan Bodhi Beard
Roberto Ambrosini
Francesca Pittino
Andrea Franzetti
Philip N. Owens
Massimiliano Nastasi
Monica Sisti
Biagio Di Mauro
Abstract
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. Plutonium is an artificial radionuclide spread into the environment in the last decades as a consequence of nuclear test explosions, accidents and nuclear fuel re-processing. Samples collected from 49 glaciers across nine regions of Earth are considered. Activity concentrations of plutonium in cryoconite are orders of magnitude higher than in other environmental matrices typically used for environmental monitoring (e.g. lichens, mosses, soils and sediments), particularly in the Northern Hemisphere. Isotopic ratios indicate that plutonium contamination of cryoconite is dominated by the global signal of stratospheric fallout related to atmospheric nuclear tests. However, specific glaciers in Svalbard reveal a signature compatible with a contribution from the re-entry of the SNAP-9A satellite in 1964, which was equipped with a Pu radioisotope thermoelectric generator. Similarly, an excess of Pu is observed in cryoconite from the Exploradores Glacier (Chile). This could be associated with the November 1996 crash of the automatic Interplanetary Station "Mars '96" which was carrying a Pu thermoelectric generator. This is the first time ever that an isotopic evidence for this event is reported. These findings highlight the role that cryoconite can play in reconstructing the radioactive contamination history of different glaciated regions of the Earth. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.]
Citation
Łokas, E., Baccolo, G., Cwanek, A., Buda, J., Kołtonik, K., Takeuchi, N., Wachniew, P., Clason, C., Zawierucha, K., Beard, D. B., Ambrosini, R., Pittino, F., Franzetti, A., Owens, P. N., Nastasi, M., Sisti, M., & Di Mauro, B. (2024). Isotopic signature of plutonium accumulated in cryoconite on glaciers worldwide. Science of the Total Environment, 951, Article 175356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175356
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Aug 5, 2024 |
Online Publication Date | Aug 8, 2024 |
Publication Date | Nov 15, 2024 |
Deposit Date | Aug 14, 2024 |
Publicly Available Date | Aug 14, 2024 |
Journal | Science of The Total Environment |
Print ISSN | 0048-9697 |
Electronic ISSN | 1879-1026 |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 951 |
Article Number | 175356 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175356 |
Keywords | Cryoconite, Glaciers, Mass ratio, Activity ratio, Plutonium |
Public URL | https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2754031 |
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