INFLUENCE OF THE SUBMARINE OROGRAPHY ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF LONG-LIVED RADIONUCLIDES IN THE PALOMARES MARINE ECOSYSTEM

To trace the consequences of the Palomares accident which occurred in southeastern Spain in 1966, a number of studies were performed upon se diments collected in the adjacent marine ecosystem in 1985. The resear ch revealed a land-to-sea transport of part of the transuranics residu al contamination still remaining in the affected area after the clean- zip operations. The transfer routes to the Mediterranean sea (via rive r flooding and airborne relocation) were elucidated through the recons truction of the sediment cores' depositional history. Present investig ations focus on the distribution of Pu, Am and Cs along the complex sy stem of submarine canyons shaping the orography of the Palomares marin e environment. Marine samples were collected in 1991 to evaluate the p ossible removal of the radionuclides deposited in the continental shel f towards the deep sea, favoured by the strong turbidity currents and/ or the topography of the canyon itself. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Sc ience Limited