Siltation and radiocesium pollution of small lakes in different catchment types far from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident site
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident caused radioactive pollution in northeastern Honshu Island, Japan. This study examined the influence of snowmelt and rainfall on soil erosion processes and siltation of small lakes in Miyagi Prefecture (150 km northwest of the power plant). Two sets...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2020-03-01
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| Series: | International Soil and Water Conservation Research |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095633919301960 |
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| author | Mikhail Komissarov Shin-ichiro Ogura |
| author_facet | Mikhail Komissarov Shin-ichiro Ogura |
| author_sort | Mikhail Komissarov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident caused radioactive pollution in northeastern Honshu Island, Japan. This study examined the influence of snowmelt and rainfall on soil erosion processes and siltation of small lakes in Miyagi Prefecture (150 km northwest of the power plant). Two sets of slopes and lakes, respectively in pasture and forest catchments, were examined. Snowpack thickness, soil infiltration, surface runoff volume, soil and sediment physicochemical properties, Cs concentration of precipitation, meltwater, and rainwater, and lake siltation rates were determined. The total radioactive Cs content in precipitation was 0.7–7.4 BqˑL−1 and was below the Japanese standard (10 BqˑL−1). Total radioactive Cs was at the allowable level in water flowing down the pasture catchment slope (0.1–9.2 BqˑL−1) during snowmelt and rainfall, as well as in pasture (0.9–8.8 BqˑL−1) and forest (0.7–5.2 BqˑL−1) catchment lake water. There was no soil erosion (surface runoff) in the forest catchment. Soil losses in the pasture catchment were 23 due to rainfall and 9 kg ha−1 yr−1 following spring snowmelt. After snowmelt, a 0.5 and 0.2 mm thick layer of silt was deposited in pasture and forest catchment lakes, respectively, and 1.4 and 0.6 mm were deposited during the rainfall period. Average siltation rates were 1.9 and 0.8 mmˑyr−1 for pasture and forest catchment lakes, respectively. The upper layer of lake bottom sediments is represented mainly by silt fractions (2–50 μm), with high organic matter (4.0–5.7%) and radiocesium (1100–1600 kgˑha−1) contents. Keywords: Fukushima Daiichi, Radiocesium, Siltation, Suspended sediment, Waterbodies, Water turbidity |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T18:51:38Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2095-6339 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T18:51:38Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Soil and Water Conservation Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-bb9f296f928545a0978bc13fa07ac5ce2024-03-02T01:34:09ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.International Soil and Water Conservation Research2095-63392020-03-01815665Siltation and radiocesium pollution of small lakes in different catchment types far from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident siteMikhail Komissarov0Shin-ichiro Ogura1Ufa Institute of Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Oktyabrya 69, Ufa, 450054, Russia; Corresponding author.Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 232-3 Yomogita, Naruko-onsen, Osaki, 989-6711, JapanThe Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident caused radioactive pollution in northeastern Honshu Island, Japan. This study examined the influence of snowmelt and rainfall on soil erosion processes and siltation of small lakes in Miyagi Prefecture (150 km northwest of the power plant). Two sets of slopes and lakes, respectively in pasture and forest catchments, were examined. Snowpack thickness, soil infiltration, surface runoff volume, soil and sediment physicochemical properties, Cs concentration of precipitation, meltwater, and rainwater, and lake siltation rates were determined. The total radioactive Cs content in precipitation was 0.7–7.4 BqˑL−1 and was below the Japanese standard (10 BqˑL−1). Total radioactive Cs was at the allowable level in water flowing down the pasture catchment slope (0.1–9.2 BqˑL−1) during snowmelt and rainfall, as well as in pasture (0.9–8.8 BqˑL−1) and forest (0.7–5.2 BqˑL−1) catchment lake water. There was no soil erosion (surface runoff) in the forest catchment. Soil losses in the pasture catchment were 23 due to rainfall and 9 kg ha−1 yr−1 following spring snowmelt. After snowmelt, a 0.5 and 0.2 mm thick layer of silt was deposited in pasture and forest catchment lakes, respectively, and 1.4 and 0.6 mm were deposited during the rainfall period. Average siltation rates were 1.9 and 0.8 mmˑyr−1 for pasture and forest catchment lakes, respectively. The upper layer of lake bottom sediments is represented mainly by silt fractions (2–50 μm), with high organic matter (4.0–5.7%) and radiocesium (1100–1600 kgˑha−1) contents. Keywords: Fukushima Daiichi, Radiocesium, Siltation, Suspended sediment, Waterbodies, Water turbidityhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095633919301960 |
| spellingShingle | Mikhail Komissarov Shin-ichiro Ogura Siltation and radiocesium pollution of small lakes in different catchment types far from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident site International Soil and Water Conservation Research |
| title | Siltation and radiocesium pollution of small lakes in different catchment types far from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident site |
| title_full | Siltation and radiocesium pollution of small lakes in different catchment types far from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident site |
| title_fullStr | Siltation and radiocesium pollution of small lakes in different catchment types far from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident site |
| title_full_unstemmed | Siltation and radiocesium pollution of small lakes in different catchment types far from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident site |
| title_short | Siltation and radiocesium pollution of small lakes in different catchment types far from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident site |
| title_sort | siltation and radiocesium pollution of small lakes in different catchment types far from the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant accident site |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095633919301960 |
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