Plutonium and uranium fallout from Maralinga and Emu nuclear detonation sites, South Australia, as environmental markers

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dc.contributor.authorChild, DPen_AU
dc.contributor.authorHotchkis, MACen_AU
dc.contributor.authorTurner, SPen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2022-11-17T00:04:54Zen_AU
dc.date.available2022-11-17T00:04:54Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2012-10-17en_AU
dc.date.statistics2022-02-02en_AU
dc.description.abstractAtmospheric nuclear testing was performed widely around the world, from the Russian test site at Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic circle to Maralinga in Southern Australia. These detonations introduced radioactive material into the atmosphere which would give rise to a roughly homogenised fallout signal in every topsoil surface and sedimentary archive exposed to the atmosphere during this period. A large quantity of the radioactive material released was not homogeneously dispersed over the globe however, being released instead into the troposphere and falling out locally around the detonation sites. Each nuclear detonation generates fallout with a signature characteristic of weapon design. Local fallout has been shown to retain this individual signature if distinct from average global fallout. This study investigated the plutonium and uranium isotopic signatures and deposition patterns of several nuclear detonations carried out by the British government at Maralinga and Emu, South Australia, and in the Monte Bello Islands, Western Australia. These tests are found to have 240Pu:239Pu atom ratios of 0.020 – 0.054, clearly distinguishable from global fallout for the Southern Hemisphere (0.176), and these signatures are distinct and undiluted at distances on the order of 100km from the detonation sites. 236U:Pu atom ratios have also been measured, and vary between 0.008 and 0.02. These findings have potential significance for the use of close-in plutonium and uranium fallout as chronological markers for geomorphological studies.en_AU
dc.identifier.citationChild, D. P., Hotchkis, M. A. C., & Turner, S. P. (2012). Plutonium and uranium fallout from Maralinga and Emu nuclear detonation sites, South Australia, as environmental markers. Paper presented to the 12th South Pacific Environmental Radioactivity Association Conference (SPERA 2012), Sydney, Australia, Tuesday 16 October – Friday 19 October 2012. Lucas Heights, NSW: Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation. (pp. 30).en_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceenddate19 October 2012en_AU
dc.identifier.conferencename12th South Pacific Environmental Radioactivity Association Conference (SPERA 2012)en_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceplaceSydney, Australiaen_AU
dc.identifier.conferencestartdate16 October 2012en_AU
dc.identifier.pagination30en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/handle/10238/14060en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherAustralian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisationen_AU
dc.subjectPlutoniumen_AU
dc.subjectUraniumen_AU
dc.subjectFallouten_AU
dc.subjectNuclear test sitesen_AU
dc.subjectSouth Australiaen_AU
dc.subjectAustraliaen_AU
dc.subjectEnvironmenten_AU
dc.subjectGeomorphologyen_AU
dc.subjectNuclear explosionsen_AU
dc.subjectTroposphereen_AU
dc.titlePlutonium and uranium fallout from Maralinga and Emu nuclear detonation sites, South Australia, as environmental markersen_AU
dc.typeConference Abstracten_AU
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