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Fission products in Antarctic snow, A reference level for measuring accumulation

1963; American Geophysical Union; Volume: 68; Issue: 21 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1029/jz068i021p05965

2156-2202

E. Picciotto, S. Wilgain,

Polar Research and Ecology

Journal of Geophysical Research (1896-1977)Volume 68, Issue 21 p. 5965-5972 Fission products in Antarctic snow, A reference level for measuring accumulation E. Picciotto, E. PicciottoSearch for more papers by this authorS. Wilgain, S. WilgainSearch for more papers by this author E. Picciotto, E. PicciottoSearch for more papers by this authorS. Wilgain, S. WilgainSearch for more papers by this author First published: 1 November 1963 https://doi.org/10.1029/JZ068i021p05965Citations: 109AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Abstract In the area around King Baudouin Station (70°S, 24°E), it is shown that a reference horizon, easy to identify, was formed by the stratospheric fallout of radioactive debris from thermonuclear bomb tests. Gross β activity and Sreo have been measured in snow and firn samples from 1935 to 1960. The samples were dated by stratigraphy and by oxygen isotope-ratio measurements. The contribution of natural radionuclides is negligible, and the gross β activity can be taken as a measure of the fission products concentration. The following average values were found: from 1955 to 1960, 14 dpm/kg of snow; beginning of 1955, 22 dpm/kg (Sr90 = 4.5); 1953 and 1954, 2 dpm/kg; and from 1935 to 1952: 0.5 dpm/kg (Sr90<0.1). The sharp tenfold increase in the β activity at the beginning of 1955 is attributed to the sudden release in the antarctic troposphere of fission products from the Castle thermonuclear tests series (March 1954). The previous and first thermonuclear test (Ivy, November 1952) is less marked. The β activity before 1952 is essentially due to Pb210 and K40. There are indications that this radio-active horizon has been formed at the same time over the whole ice cap, but direct checks are needed on more, well-dated firn profiles. References Ardouin, B., C. Jehanno, J. Labeyrie, G. Lambert, B. Parlier, R. Jouanne, Mesure de la radioactivité d'origine artificielle dans l'hémisphère sud, Bull. Inform. Sci. Techn., Paris, 56, 2– 13, 1961. Begemann, Fr., W. F. Libby, Continental water balance, ground water inventory and storage times, surface ocean mixing rates and world-wide circulation patterns from cosmic-ray and bomb tritium, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 12, 277– 296, 1957. Brocas, J., R. Delwiche, Cl, K, and Na concentrations in antarctic snow and ice, J. Geophys. Res., 68(13), 3999– 4000, 1963. Chesselet, R., D. Nordemann, Spectométrie gamma in situ des eaux de la Méditerranée occidentale, Bull. Inst. 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F., C. E. Palmer, Stratospheric mixing from radioactive fallout, J. Geophys. Res., 65(10), 3307– 3317, 1960. Lockhart Jr., L. B., Atmospheric radioactivity in South America and Antarctica, J. Geophys. Res., 65(12), 3999– 4005, 1960. Lockhart Jr., L. B., R. A. Baus, R. L. Patterson Jr., I. H. Blifford Jr., Some measurements of the radioactivity of the air during 1957U. S. Naval Res. Lab. Rept. 5208, 33, 1958. Machta, L., A survey of information on meteorological aspects of world-wide falloutWorld Meteorol. Organ. Rept. 11, T-P-49, 3– 30, 1961. Martell, E. A., Atmospheric aspects of strontium-90 fallout, Science, 129(3357), 1197– 1206, 1959a. Martell, E. A., Global fallout and its variability, Geophys. Res. Papers U. S., 65, 26, 1959b. Oeschger, H., A. Renaud, E. Schumacher, Essai de datation par le tritium des couches de névé du Jungfraufirn et détermination de l'accumulation annuelle, Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat., 68(306), 49– 56, 1962. 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