New insights on the role of sea ice in intercepting atmospheric pollutants using (129)I

Mar Pollut Bull. 2014 Dec 15;89(1-2):180-190. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.10.004. Epub 2014 Oct 23.

Abstract

Measurements of (129)I carried out on sea ice samples collected in the central Arctic Ocean in 2007 revealed relatively high levels in the range of 100-1400×10(7) at L(-1) that are comparable to levels measured in the surface mixed layer of the ocean at the same time. The (129)I/(127)I ratio in sea ice is much greater than that in the underlying water, indicating that the (129)I inventory in sea ice cannot be supported by direct uptake from seawater or by iodine volatilization from proximal (nearby) oceanic regimes. Instead, it is proposed that most of the (129)I inventory in the sea ice is derived from direct atmospheric transport from European nuclear fuel reprocessing plants at Sellafield and Cap La Hague. This hypothesis is supported by back trajectory simulations indicating that volume elements of air originating in the Sellafield/La Hague regions would have been present at arctic sampling stations coincident with sampling collection.

Keywords: AMS; Arctic Ocean; Atmospheric deposition; Iodine-129; Reprocessing; Sea ice.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Air Pollutants / analysis*
  • Arctic Regions
  • Atmosphere
  • Ice Cover*
  • Iodine Radioisotopes / analysis*
  • Oceans and Seas
  • Seawater

Substances

  • Air Pollutants
  • Iodine Radioisotopes