Assessment of the depositional characteristics of the Yellow River estuary from 1960s by 239+240Pu and 137Cs

Yongjing Guan; Kaidi Fan; Shenzhen Wang; Liangjia Cui; Huijuan Wang; Zichen Guo; Wu Chen; Hua He; Zhiyong Liu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169473

Assessment of the depositional characteristics of the Yellow River estuary from 1960s by ^239+240Pu and ¹³⁷Cs

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Feb 20:912:169473. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169473. Epub 2023 Dec 21.

Authors

Yongjing Guan¹, Kaidi Fan², Shenzhen Wang², Liangjia Cui², Huijuan Wang², Zichen Guo², Wu Chen², Hua He², Zhiyong Liu³

Affiliations

¹ Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China. Electronic address: yjguan@gxu.edu.cn.
² Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X) and Collaborative Innovation Centre of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China. Electronic address: liuzy@suda.edu.cn.

PMID: 38141998
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169473

Abstract

The spatial and vertical distribution of ^239+240Pu and ¹³⁷Cs in the sediments of the Yellow River Delta was studied to evaluate the deposition dynamics in the Yellow River estuary from 1960s. The activity of ^239+240Pu and ¹³⁷Cs in sediment core ranged from 0.001 to 0.212 Bq/kg and 0.52-2.53 Bq/kg, respectively. A maximum accumulation peak and two secondary accumulation peaks appeared in the sediment core YR2. The average deposition rate of 8.3 cm/y for the Yellow River estuary from 1964 to 1976 was obtained. The proportion of Pu from the Yellow River net input and direct deposition to the total inventory of Pu in the estuary was assessed, with a total inventory of Pu in the abandoned estuary of 7.4 × 10¹⁰ Bq and a net input of 2.2 × 10¹⁰ Bq from the Yellow River. Pu deposited in the estuary only accounts for 18 % of the total Pu transported by the Yellow River, and most of the Pu is injected into the Bohai Sea with the Yellow River.

Keywords: (137)Cs; (239+240)Pu; Chronometry; Deposition; Yellow River estuary.