The fallout was frozen in melting glaciers: ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE: Science Times

(Photo: Free-Photos)

It's no secret that the sea level is rising because the planet is warming up and the glaciers are melting into the oceans. In addition to tighter shorelines and rising water temperatures that have led to the migration of wildlife, there is another possibility that scientists are currently working on.

According to new research, the presence of nuclear material in glaciers has been detected in ice cores taken from different glacier sites. Ice surface sediments, known as cryoconites, were found to be buried with rejected radionuclides (FRNs). This is true for the 17 glacier sites, including the Arctic, Iceland, the European Alps, Antarctica and other places. Some of the samples badyzed had a higher concentration of FRN. These samples come from glacier areas.

The study postulates that climate change has another undesirable and serious consequence, namely the re-emission of radioactive materials following nuclear disasters, such as those of Chernobyl and Fukushima.

Caroline Clason, from the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom and a member of the team, pointed out that nuclear accidents had already been the subject of an badysis of the effects on human health and ecosystems in non-glacial areas. However, their team has found evidence that cryoconite on glaciers can effectively accumulate radionuclides, which could lead to levels considered dangerous.

Among the hazardous radioactive materials found in the study are cesium and americium. Samples taken from the Morteratsch glacier in Switzerland contain 13,558 becquerels per kilogram of cesium-137. For reference, meat consumed by humans contained only 1,500 becquerels per kilogram.

The ice cores sampled showed peaks representing the impact of Chernobyl, Fukushima, and large-scale weapons testing (1950s to 1960s). Clason explained that the radioactive particles are very light and can be transported to different places via the atmosphere. FRNs that fall in the rain can be washed away. However, if it falls in the form of snow, it will remain trapped in the ice for decades.

One of the objectives of the research is to determine how FRNs could eventually and potentially contaminate the environment, which would impact the food chain once ice trapping has melted and will be released. again. Clason explains the importance of their research as early warning for communities that move to glacial regions or those that live in areas downstream of melting glaciers. In addition, such communities should be aware that they may face unforeseen problems in the future.