Abstract
During the recent Swedish Antarctic research Expedition (SWEDARP 89/89) samples of surface sea water were collected on board the Stena Arctica during steaming between Gothenburg, Sweden and the Antarctic Peninsula. Radio chemical separation was performed for radio caesium on 200 l samples and for plutonium on samples between 200 and 1500 1. The results are compared with those of the GEOSECS expedition in the North and South Atlantic in 1972–73 and the Polish expedition in 1977–78. They show that radio caesium has behaved rather conservatively and that the decrease in surface water concentrations during 16 years mainly is due to physical decay. On the other hand levels of 239+240Pu have decreased by a factor of 4–5 giving a half life of 7–8 years in open Atlantic surface waters.
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© 1991 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd
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Holm, E. et al. (1991). Radiocaesium and Plutonium in Atlantic Surface Waters from 73 °N to 72 °S. In: Kershaw, P.J., Woodhead, D.S. (eds) Radionuclides in the Study of Marine Processes. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3686-0_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3686-0_1
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