Radionuclide Dispersion

Nuclear deposits in coastal glaciers in the Arctic may be released with increased melting, threatening human and environmental health.

Nuclear testing between 1957 and 1963 deposited long-lived radionuclides on glaciers, particularly around the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Kara sea. Melting glacier ice could result in the release of these long-lived radionuclides into the sea, threatening human and environmental health. In addition, there may be radioactive leakage from other sources such as sunken radioactive waste, reactors, and submarines.

Storylines

The final storyline will be selected, taking into account important factors of climate variability in the Arctic such as warming of the Barent-Kara sea, which can have an impact on radionuclide dispersion in regional or global scales. In this section, you will find how one of our Arctic storylines impacts radionuclide dispersion from contaminated coastal glaciers on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and sunken solid radioactive wastes, reactors, and submarines in the Kara sea, and what this means for the environment and global human health.