(superscript 240)Pu/(superscript 239)Pu Ratios in Sun Moon Lake Sediments: Implications for Sources of Nuclear Fallout in Taiwan

Chih-An Huh

Plutonium ； Nuclear fallout ； Sun Moon Lake

Terrestrial, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

8卷3期（1997 / 09 / 01）

289 - 294

英文

The isotopic composition of plutonium in dated Sun Moon Lake sediments was determined by mass spectrometry in an effort to trace the source(s) and timing of nuclear fallout in Taiwan. The (superscript 240)Pu/(superscript 239)Pu ratios in the sediment core vary by a factor of＞5, with the highest ratio, 0.22, corresponding to the maximum level of nuclear fallout in 1963 and the lowest ratios, 0.04-0.06, being identified at two time horizons: 1982-83 and 1992-93. At other depth intervals, the (superscript 240)Pu/(superscript 239)Pu ratios fall within 0.15-0.19. The data indicate that global fallout from the stratosphere is the dominant source of Pu in the sediments, whereas the tropospheric transport of low burn-up debris from Lop Nor in NW China is mostly responsible for the unusually low (superscript 240)Pu/(superscript 239)Pu ratios.