ESTIMATES OF FLUXES OF CS-137 IN NORTHERN WATERS FROM RECENT MEASUREMENTS

Concentrations of Cs-137 were determined in surface and sub-surface wa ters sampled in 1994, from the Norwegian Coastal Current, Norwegian Se a, Barents Sea, Fram Strait, Greenland Sea and the Iceland-Faroe Gap. Additional surface samples were taken from the Iceland-Faroe Gap in 19 95. The data were compared with previous measurements from the region. Concentrations in the south-western Barents Sea continued to decline, a trend matched by the decrease in the release of reprocessing waste. The flux of Cs-137 into the Parents Sea in 1994 was estimated to be 3 00-400 TBq, including 100-200 TBq of fallout origin. The calculations were based on both contemporaneous hydrographic observations and publi shed transport estimates. A further 120-180 TBq of Cs-137, of non-fall out origin, was estimated to have been transported through Fram Strait into the Polar Ocean. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.