Airborne radionuclides and heavy metals in high Arctic terrestrial environment as the indicators of sources and transfers of contamination

Łokas, Edyta; Zaborska, Agata; Sobota, Ireneusz; Gaca, P.; Milton, James A.; Kocurek, Paweł; Cwanek, Anna

doi:10.5194/tc-13-2075-2019

Cited by 36 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Our results show that elemental carbon is accumulated in cryoconite with respect to Alpine snow, where typical concentrations are orders of magnitude lower (Jenk et al, 2006). Only contaminated urban soils present an elemental carbon concentration comparable to Alpine cryoconite samples (Lorenz et al, 2006). These findings support the hypotheses by Hodson (2014), who has suggested that cryoconite plays a role in extending the residence time of black and elemental carbon on the surface of glaciers, with implications for the accumulation of hydrophobic contaminants and for ice darkening.…”

Section: Carbonaceous Contentsupporting

confidence: 81%

Cryoconite: an efficient accumulator of radioactive fallout in glacial environments

et al. 2020

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Abstract. Cryoconite is rich in natural and artificial radioactivity, but a discussion about its ability to accumulate radionuclides is lacking. A characterization of cryoconite from two Alpine glaciers is presented here. Results confirm that cryoconite is significantly more radioactive than the matrices usually adopted for the environmental monitoring of radioactivity, such as lichens and mosses, with activity concentrations exceeding 10 000 Bq kg−1 for single radionuclides. This makes cryoconite an ideal matrix to investigate the deposition and occurrence of radioactive species in glacial environments. In addition, cryoconite can be used to track environmental radioactivity sources. We have exploited atomic and activity ratios of artificial radionuclides to identify the sources of the anthropogenic radioactivity accumulated in our samples. The signature of cryoconite from different Alpine glaciers is compatible with the stratospheric global fallout and Chernobyl accident products. Differences are found when considering other geographic contexts. A comparison with data from literature shows that Alpine cryoconite is strongly influenced by the Chernobyl fallout, while cryoconite from other regions is more impacted by events such as nuclear test explosions and satellite reentries. To explain the accumulation of radionuclides in cryoconite, the glacial environment as a whole must be considered, and particularly the interaction between ice, meltwater, cryoconite and atmospheric deposition. We hypothesize that the impurities originally preserved into ice and mobilized with meltwater during summer, including radionuclides, are accumulated in cryoconite because of their affinity for organic matter, which is abundant in cryoconite. In relation to these processes, we have explored the possibility of exploiting radioactivity to date cryoconite.

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Section: Carbonaceous Contentsupporting

confidence: 81%

Cryoconite: an efficient accumulator of radioactive fallout in glacial environments

et al. 2020

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“…Cryoconite is a promising environmental matrix to study the radioecology of the Arctic and other glacial regions 1 , 2 . Sediments in the bottoms of cryoconite holes usually consist of dark, often black granules, which are minerals (80–98 mass%) and organic matter (2–20 mass%) 3 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cryoconite absorbs solar radiation, and associated melting leads to the formation of cylindrical holes in the glacier surface. The ability of cryoconite to accumulate natural and anthropogenic radionuclides from the atmosphere to very high activity levels has been shown in a number of publications 1 , 2 , 4 – 14 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Radioecological and geochemical peculiarities of cryoconite on Novaya Zemlya glaciers

Miroshnikov

Флинт

Asadulin

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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In recent years, cryoconite has received growing attention from a radioecological point of view, since several studies have shown that this material is extremely efficient in accumulating natural and anthropogenic radionuclides. The Novaya Zemlya Archipelago (Russian Arctic) hosts the second largest glacial system in the Arctic. From 1957 to 1962, numerous atmospheric nuclear explosions were conducted at Novaya Zemlya, but to date, very little is known about the radioecology of its ice cap. Analysis of radionuclides and other chemical elements in cryoconite holes on Nalli Glacier reveals the presence of two main zones at different altitudes that present different radiological features. The first zone is 130–210 m above sea level (a.s.l.), has low radioactivity, high concentrations of lithophile elements and a chalcophile content close to that of upper continental crust clarkes. The second zone (220–370 m a.s.l.) is characterized by high activity levels of radionuclides and “inversion” of geochemical behaviour with lower concentrations of lithophiles and higher chalcophiles. In the upper part of this zone (350–370 m a.s.l.), 137Cs activity reaches the record levels for Arctic cryoconite (5700–8100 Bq/kg). High levels of Sn, Sb, Bi and Ag, significantly exceeding those of upper continental crust clarkes, also appear here. We suggest that a buried layer of contaminated ice that formed during atmospheric nuclear tests serves as a local secondary source of radionuclide contamination. Its melting is responsible for the formation of this zone.

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“…Meltwater is in fact the means by which the impurities deposited in the past on the glacier, and subsequently preserved in snow and ice layers, come into contact with cryoconite (Baccolo, et al, 2019). Studies have shown that cryoconite accumulates both natural FRN, such as 210 Pb and 7 Be, and anthropogenic FRN, such as 137 Cs, Pu and Am isotopes, which were released in the environment as a consequence of nuclear accidents, test explosions and atmospheric re-entries of nuclear powered satellites (Tieber, et al, 2009;Baccolo, et al, 2019;Łokas, et al, 2019). After being accumulated at the surface of glaciers, cryoconite and its radioactive content are released by glaciers in association with meltwater.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Artificial and natural radionuclides in cryoconite as tracers of supraglacial dynamics: Insights from the Morteratsch glacier (Swiss Alps)

Baccolo

Nastasi

Massabò

et al. 2020

CATENA

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Cryoconite, a sediment found on the surface of glaciers, is known for its ability to accumulate radionuclides. New data on cryoconite from the Morteratsch glacier (Switzerland) are presented with the aim to shed light on the mechanisms that control the distribution of radioactivity in cryoconite. Among the many radionuclides detected in our samples, we have identified 108m Ag, an artificial species which has never been observed in terrestrial environments before. This finding supports that cryoconite has an extraordinary ability to accumulate radioactivity. Our results also show that the radioactivity of cryoconite is far from uniform. Both the absolute amount of radioactivity and the relative contribution of single radionuclides is highly variable in samples from the Morteratsch glacier. To investigate the processes responsible for such variability, we have explored the correlation between radionuclides, organic and inorganic carbon fractions and the morphological features of cryoconite deposits. We have found that the degree to cryoconite is connected with supraglacial hydrology is particularly important, since it strongly influences the accumulation of radionuclides in cryoconite. Cryoconite holes connected with supraglacial channels is rich in cosmogenic 7 Be; in contrast, poorly connected deposits are rich in artificial fallout radionuclides and elemental carbon. The very different half-lives of 7 Be and artificial radionuclides allowed us to discuss our findings in relation to the age and maturity of cryoconite deposits, highlighting the potential use of radionuclides to investigate hydrological supraglacial processes and 40 material cycling at the surface of glaciers.

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Airborne radionuclides and heavy metals in high Arctic terrestrial environment as the indicators of sources and transfers of contamination

Cited by 36 publications

References 59 publications

Cryoconite: an efficient accumulator of radioactive fallout in glacial environments

Cryoconite: an efficient accumulator of radioactive fallout in glacial environments

Radioecological and geochemical peculiarities of cryoconite on Novaya Zemlya glaciers

Artificial and natural radionuclides in cryoconite as tracers of supraglacial dynamics: Insights from the Morteratsch glacier (Swiss Alps)

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