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Drifter‐based estimate of the 5 year dispersal of F ukushima‐derived radionuclides
Author(s) -
Rypina I. I.,
Jayne S. R.,
Yoshida S.,
Macdonald A. M.,
Buesseler K.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9291
pISSN - 2169-9275
DOI - 10.1002/2014jc010306
Subject(s) - drifter , radionuclide , environmental science , biological dispersal , trajectory , scale (ratio) , climatology , geography , geology , lagrangian , physics , cartography , nuclear physics , population , demography , sociology , mathematical physics , astronomy
Employing some 40 years of North Pacific drifter‐track observations from the Global Drifter Program database, statistics defining the horizontal spread of radionuclides from Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean are investigated over a time scale of 5 years. A novel two‐iteration method is employed to make the best use of the available drifter data. Drifter‐based predictions of the temporal progression of the leading edge of the radionuclide distribution are compared to observed radionuclide concentrations from research surveys occupied in 2012 and 2013. Good agreement between the drifter‐based predictions and the observations is found.