Titre
Anthropogenic radionuclides in atmospheric air over Switzerland during the last few decades.
Type
article
Institution
UNIL/CHUV/Unisanté + institutions partenaires
Périodique
Auteur(s)
Alvarado, J.A.
Auteure/Auteur
Steinmann, P.
Auteure/Auteur
Estier, S.
Auteure/Auteur
Bochud, F.
Auteure/Auteur
Haldimann, M.
Auteure/Auteur
Froidevaux, P.
Auteure/Auteur
Liens vers les personnes
Liens vers les unités
ISSN
2041-1723
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
2014
Volume
5
Première page
3030
Langue
anglais
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Résumé
The atmospheric nuclear testing in the 1950s and early 1960s and the burn-up of the SNAP-9A satellite led to large injections of radionuclides into the stratosphere. It is generally accepted that current levels of plutonium and caesium radionuclides in the stratosphere are negligible. Here we show that those radionuclides are present in the stratosphere at higher levels than in the troposphere. The lower content in the troposphere reveals that dry and wet deposition efficiently removes radionuclides within a period of a few weeks to months. Since the stratosphere is thermally stratified and separated from the troposphere by the tropopause, radioactive aerosols remain longer. We estimate a mean residence time for plutonium and caesium radionuclides in the stratosphere of 2.5-5 years. Our results also reveal that strong volcanic eruptions like Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 have an important role in redistributing anthropogenic radionuclides from the stratosphere to the troposphere.
PID Serval
serval:BIB_A33884CDAE90
PMID
Open Access
Oui
Date de création
2014-03-21T17:58:01.353Z
Date de création dans IRIS
2025-05-21T00:38:49Z