Complex assessment of particle-bound radionuclide redistribution in the Plava River basin (Central European Russia)

摘要

Fluvial systems are both the main routes for pollutant transportation and one of the landscape components most vulnerable to negative effects of pollution. In this research we have attempted to evaluate post-fallout redistribution of the Chernobyl-derived radioactive ~(137)Cs in the Plava River basin (Central European Russia) by means of quantification of main components of the basin-scale fluvial sediment budget. Due to its high affinity to clay minerals in finer fractions of soils and sediment, this isotope has, for a few decades, been used as a tracer of soil and sediment redistribution. It can also be used as an experimental analogue for other particle-bound pollutants, such as heavy metals, due to the similar environmental behaviour (Walling, 1999).