Fig. 2: 137Cs activity concentrations in the world ocean by decade (observed values as colored circles; modeled decadal means as contours). | Communications Earth & Environment

Fig. 2: 137Cs activity concentrations in the world ocean by decade (observed values as colored circles; modeled decadal means as contours).

From: Anthropogenic radionuclides as tracers of climate change in the Pacific Ocean

Fig. 2: 137Cs activity concentrations in the world ocean by decade (observed values as colored circles; modeled decadal means as contours).The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

By the 1980s, the 137Cs concentration became more uniform throughout the ocean, but the number of observations decreased until the F1NPP accident in March 2011. This accident triggered many expeditions in the North Pacific. After 2020 the accident influence is largely confined to regions adjacent to the F1NPP. Data from the University of Tsukuba ERAN database23,81 (https://eran-database.jp/list/00085.html) and from the IAEA MARIS database (https://maris.iaea.org). The global maps were produced in Python using Matplotlib and Cartopy (https://scitools.org.uk).

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