MODELING THE DISPERSION OF CS-137 AND PU-239 RELEASED FROM DUMPED WASTE IN THE KARA SEA

Three-dimensional, baroclinic, circulation models are applied to study the dispersal of radioactivity in the Barents Sea and Kara Sea. The r elease is supposed to occur at underwater dump sites for radioactive w aste in the Kara Sea, used by the former Soviet Union. Two different s patial scales of dispersion are considered: the regional scale (the fa r field), which covers the shelves of the Barents and Kara Seas and th e local scale (the near field) which is focused mainly on Abrasimov Ba y where the dumping partly took place. The regional-scale model result s suggest that, even for a worst case scenario, the radioactive contam ination of Siberian coastal waters would be relatively small compared to observations in other marine systems (e.g the Baltic Sea and the Ir ish Sea). Realistic gradual release scenarios show very low concentrat ions in the central and eastern Kara Sea. A significant contamination of surrounding seas like the Laptev Sea, the Arctic Ocean or the Baren ts Sea by radioactive waste dispersion from the Kara Sea seems to be u nlikely. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.