Assessment of Elevated Radionuclide Levels in Soils Associated with an Avian Colony in a High Arctic Environment

Abstract

This article presents the results of an investigation into the occurrence of elevated levels of radionuclides in soils associated with a seabird colony in the Arctic. Soils and other materials were collected from a seabird colony (primarily composed of kittiwakes) in Kongsfjorden, located in the High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. The samples were analyzed for a suite of gamma emitting natural and anthropogenic radionuclides, including ¹³⁷Cs and nuclides of the ²³⁸U and ²³²Th series, to establish the level of enrichment and the behavior of the radionuclides in the immediate area. The results indicate that soils near the colony exhibit enrichment factors of 8 for ¹³⁷Cs, 5 for ²³⁸U and 2 for ²²⁶Ra compared to the nuclide content of soils from the general area. The spatial patterns of the nuclides in the soil are consistent with enrichment of the soil via run-off draining from a large accumulation of fecal and nesting material that has developed at the base of the colony. ¹³⁷Cs ingress to the soil appears to have peaked at some point in the past as patterns of enrichment at the colony are different to those exhibited by ²³⁸U, which must be assumed to be a steady state contribution. The means of introduction of radionuclides to the colony remains unclear but the transfer of ¹³⁷Cs from the marine environment to the terrestrial environment via the food chain and deposition of feces is discussed.

Keywords:

• Radionuclides
• Arctic
• radioecology
• seabirds
• soil