Excess of $^{236}$U in the northwest Mediterranean Sea

TL;DR

This study reports the first measurements of $^{236}$U in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea, revealing anthropogenic sources dominate the water column and regional contributions exceed global fallout levels, with implications for understanding local uranium contamination.

Contribution

It provides the first data on $^{236}$U distribution in the Mediterranean Sea and assesses regional versus global sources, including Saharan dust and nuclear activities.

Findings

Anthropogenic $^{236}$U dominates the water column.

Deep-water inventory exceeds global fallout expectations.

Saharan dust contributes minimally to $^{236}$U levels.

Abstract

In this work, we present first $^{236}$U results in the northwestern Mediterranean. $^{236}$U is studied in a seawater column sampled at DYFAMED (Dynamics of Atmospheric Fluxes in the Mediterranean Sea) station (Ligurian Sea). The obtained $^{236}$U/$^{238}$U atom ratios in the dissolved phase, ranging from about $2\times10^{-9}$ at $100$ m depth to about $1.5\times10^{-9}$ at $2350$ m depth, indicate that anthropogenic $^{236}$U dominates the whole water column. The corresponding deep-water column inventory ($12.6$ ng/m$^2$ or $32.1\times10^{12}$ atoms/m$^2$) exceeds by a factor of $2.5$ the expected one for global fallout at similar latitudes ($5$ ng/m$^2$ or $13\times10^{12}$ atoms/m$^2$), evidencing the influence of local or regional $^{236}$U sources in the western Mediterranean basin. On the other hand, the input of $^{236}$U associated to Saharan dust outbreaks is evaluated. It is estimated an additional $^{236}$U annual deposition of about $0.2$ pg/m$^2$ based on the study of atmospheric particles collected in Monaco during different Saharan dust intrusions. The obtained results in the corresponding suspended solids collected at DYFAMED station indicate that about $64$% of that $^{236}$U stays in solution in seawater. Overall, this source accounts for about $0.1$% of the $^{236}$U inventory excess observed at DYFAMED station. The influence of the so-called Chernobyl fallout and the radioactive effluents produced by the different nuclear installations allocated to the Mediterranean basin, might explain the inventory gap, however, further studies are necessary to come to a conclusion about its origin.