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Continuous mapping of radionuclides on the seafloor using a towed gamma ray spectrometer

Continuous mapping of radionuclides on the seafloor using a towed gamma ray spectrometer
Continuous mapping of radionuclides on the seafloor using a towed gamma ray spectrometer

An instrument to continuously map the distribution of radionuclides on the seafloor has been developed and applied to survey radioactive discharge from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant following the M9.0 earthquake and tsunami that struck the east coast of Japan on March 11 2011. The towed gamma ray spectrometer has been deployed off Fukushima and has to date, been used to monitor radionuclide distribution over a total distance of more than 120 km. Here, we introduce the results of measurements made along three transects within an 80km radius of the plant, focusing on a 22km long transect off Iwaki. While the levels of the natural gamma ray emitter 40K remained constant, the levels of 137Cs and 134Cs were found to vary significantly with location. The in situ measurements show good agreement with laboratory analyzed samples obtained during the survey, indicating that the technique described provides an effective solution for rapid, low cost monitoring of radioactive material on the seafloor.

IEEE
Thornton, Blair
8293beb5-c083-47e3-b5f0-d9c3cee14be9
Ohnishi, Seiki
035c497a-ec02-4ce9-9879-a39a916b5d9a
Yano, Yusuke
63d7a6f0-0757-4832-bd6d-7cbc0dede012
Sasaki, Shun
f34a380b-54b0-4834-88ab-81d01e329739
Ura, Tamaki
689db479-1520-4f32-bb7a-ed34b26b921f
Odano, Naoteru
acead221-760b-421e-8c06-9907c2542f9e
Fujita, Tsuneo
363e3b8e-6936-4348-9cc2-0bf9043176e6
Thornton, Blair
8293beb5-c083-47e3-b5f0-d9c3cee14be9
Ohnishi, Seiki
035c497a-ec02-4ce9-9879-a39a916b5d9a
Yano, Yusuke
63d7a6f0-0757-4832-bd6d-7cbc0dede012
Sasaki, Shun
f34a380b-54b0-4834-88ab-81d01e329739
Ura, Tamaki
689db479-1520-4f32-bb7a-ed34b26b921f
Odano, Naoteru
acead221-760b-421e-8c06-9907c2542f9e
Fujita, Tsuneo
363e3b8e-6936-4348-9cc2-0bf9043176e6

Thornton, Blair, Ohnishi, Seiki, Yano, Yusuke, Sasaki, Shun, Ura, Tamaki, Odano, Naoteru and Fujita, Tsuneo (2013) Continuous mapping of radionuclides on the seafloor using a towed gamma ray spectrometer. In 2013 IEEE International Underwater Technology Symposium, UT 2013. IEEE.. (doi:10.1109/UT.2013.6519825).

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

An instrument to continuously map the distribution of radionuclides on the seafloor has been developed and applied to survey radioactive discharge from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant following the M9.0 earthquake and tsunami that struck the east coast of Japan on March 11 2011. The towed gamma ray spectrometer has been deployed off Fukushima and has to date, been used to monitor radionuclide distribution over a total distance of more than 120 km. Here, we introduce the results of measurements made along three transects within an 80km radius of the plant, focusing on a 22km long transect off Iwaki. While the levels of the natural gamma ray emitter 40K remained constant, the levels of 137Cs and 134Cs were found to vary significantly with location. The in situ measurements show good agreement with laboratory analyzed samples obtained during the survey, indicating that the technique described provides an effective solution for rapid, low cost monitoring of radioactive material on the seafloor.

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More information

Published date: 2 July 2013
Venue - Dates: 2013 IEEE International Underwater Technology Symposium, UT 2013, , Tokyo, Japan, 2013-03-05 - 2013-03-08

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 434067
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/434067
PURE UUID: 4e45e9ee-d862-4d50-a3d8-93a61de6c2e4

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Date deposited: 11 Sep 2019 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:57

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Contributors

Author: Blair Thornton
Author: Seiki Ohnishi
Author: Yusuke Yano
Author: Shun Sasaki
Author: Tamaki Ura
Author: Naoteru Odano
Author: Tsuneo Fujita

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