Inflow of Chernobyl 90Sr to the Black Sea from the Dnepr River

Title: Inflow of Chernobyl ⁹⁰Sr to the Black Sea from the Dnepr River

Author: Gennady G. Polikarpov, Hugh D. Livingston, Ludmilla G. Kulebakina, Ken O. Buesseler, Nikolai A. Stokozov, Susan A. Casso

Reference: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Volume 34, Issue 3, March 1992, Pages 315-320

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0272-7714(05)80087-3

Keywords: Chernobyl; ⁹⁰Sr; Dnepr River; Black Sea

Abstract: Following the Chernobyl reactor accident in April 1986, studies of radionuclides in aquatic systems in general, and in the Black Sea in particular, have focused primarily on the fate and behaviour of direct fallout deposition (Buesseler et al., in press; Livingston et al., 1988; Polikarpov et al., 1991). In this paper we present an evaluation of riverine ⁹⁰Sr input and its use as a tracer for circulation studies of Chernobyl labelled shelf waters. We describe how ⁹⁰Sr measurements in the Dnepr River in the period 1986–89 can be used to determine the amount and timing of the subsequent ⁹⁰Sr inflow to the northwest Black Sea. Comparison of these data with measurements made in the Danube River in 1988 demonstrates that the Dnepr ⁹⁰Sr flux to the Black Sea is about one order of magnitude higher than that of the Danube.

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272771405800873