Special sessions on Fukushima and its effects on the ocean

Special Fukushima Session at 2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting

Contact: WHOI Media Relations Office media@whoi.edu 508-289-3340

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution The March 11, 2011, earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent radioactivity releases from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plants resulted in the largest accidental release of radiation to the ocean in history.

In a special session on Tuesday, Feb. 21, during the 2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Salt Lake City, researchers will present early results from several field and modeling studies examining the fate of more than a dozen radioactive isotopes in the air, water, and organisms impacted by the Fukushima releases. This is the largest international gathering to date of experts in this area. The session will feature 15 talks, including two by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists.

WHOI talks in the session:

WHOI marine chemist Ken Buesseler led a group of scientists from the U.S., Japan, and Europe on a June 2011 research cruise to study Fukushima-derived radionuclides in the waters off Japan. During the two-week cruise, 17 researchers and technicians collected more than 3,000 liters of water samples for analysis.

Buesseler’s talk will focus on cesium-137 and cesium-134 surface distributions and vertical profiles that were obtained during the June 2011 cruise. The highest cesium concentrations found in the waters at that time were 70-100 kilometers off shore, rather than at the closest sampling point, which was 30 km from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant……

Presentation Title: Impacts of the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plants on the Ocean
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 21
Time: 11:30 a.m.
Location: Ballroom E

WHOI physical oceanographer Steven Jayne will report on what researchers learned from 24 surface drifters that were deployed and tracked in the waters off the eastern coast of Japan. The trajectories of these drifters indicate that much of the contaminated water was being pulled away from the coast on the northern side of the Kuroshio Extension. A few of the drifters stayed in the coastal region, suggesting that some of the contaminated water may actually recirculate in this area before being washed offshore…..

Presentation Title: Tracing the Circulation Around Fukushima
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 21
Time: 11:45 a.m.
Location: Ballroom E

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More than 4,000 scientists from around the world are expected to attend the 2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting, which will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, from February 20-24, 2012. More information about the meeting, sessions and talks can be found online: http://www.sgmeet.com/osm2012/ http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/whoi-sfs021612.php