Radionuclides in the Soil of Typical Arctic Tundra and Beneath a Bird Colony Near the Russian Village of Barentsburg (Svalbard Archipelago)

• Published in: Atomic energy (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2022-02, Vol.131 (4), p.219-224
• Main Authors: Lebedeva, N. V., Usyagina, I. S., Valuyskaya, D. A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aquatic birds; Archipelagoes; Biotopes; Birds; Cesium 137; Cesium isotopes; Cesium radioisotopes; Colonies; Energy industry; Hadrons; Heavy Ions; Marine ecosystems; Nuclear Chemistry; Nuclear Energy; Nuclear Physics; Nuclear power plants; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Radioisotopes; Radium 226; Radium isotopes; Radium radioisotopes; Sea level; Soils; Strontium; Strontium 90; Strontium radioisotopes; Taiga & tundra; Towns; Tundra; Tundras
• ISSN: 1063-4258; 1573-8205
• DOI: 10.1007/s10512-022-00870-8

Features of the distribution of native ( 40 K, 226 Ra, 232 Th) and artificial ( 90 Sr, 137 Cs) radionuclides in the soil of two different biotopes – beneath a vertical cliff colony of seabirds and on a gentle slope with a typical arctic tundra – were investigated. The investigations were performed in June 2018 in the vicinity of the Russian village of Barentsburg and Kolesbukhta Bay (Svalbard Archipelago). The specific activity of 90 Sr and 137 Cs in the soil of the Arctic tundra was significantly higher than in the soil beneath the bird colony. The specific activity of native radionuclides in the ornithogenic soil beneath the bird colony correlated positively: 40 K and 226 Ra, 40 K and 232 Th, 226 Ra and 232 Th. A moderate positive interrelation was noted between the content of 137Cs in the soil beneath the bird colony and the height above sea level. The 137 Cs distribution beneath the bird colony testifies in support of the mechanism whereby this radionuclide is removed from the marine ecosystem.