– Marine Chemist: Highly contaminated waste flowing in aquifer below Fukushima — Mag: Groundwater can ‘erupt’ from seafloor offshore — Gov’t expert warned about radioactive substances ‘springing up’ in Pacific (PHOTOS) (ENENews, April 6, 2014):
Ocean Sciences Meeting, Woods Hole marine chemist Matt Charette, Feb. 24, 2014: Submarine groundwater discharge as a source of radioactivity to the ocean from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant – [Cs-134, -137] have remained elevated over ~two years and exceed background values in the coastal ocean off Japan. […] groundwater is infiltrating the NPP reactor buildings at several hundred tons/day and being transformed into highly contaminated radioactive wastewater […] TEPCO has acknowledged ongoing direct radionuclide inputs to the local aquifer with the potential for transport to the coastal ocean via submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). We present results from a May 2013 survey […] key radionuclides of concern (Cs isotopes, 90-Sr) will be presented […]
Oceanus Magazine, published by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Nov. 2004:
- Contaminants may be introduced into groundwater […] these chemicals flow underground toward ocean [and] can influence [sea life] abundance
- Groundwater often flows for long distances
- Submarine groundwater discharge [will] often carry a substantial amount of […] pollutants
- Water at the bottom of the ocean — [Scientists try to determine] where groundwater is entering the sea, how much is flowing out, and how fast
- Infrared cameras on planes […] detect thermal contrast and see where groundwater is discharging
- [Radioactive] radium and radon [are] useful indicators of groundwater discharge [since] they are not cycled or decayed as much as they would be in exposed seawater
- Automated seepage meters […] allow researchers to track flow of groundwater continuously [and] obtain high-resolution, long-term records of submarine groundwater discharge
- NSF, WHOI, Cove Point Foundation, and NOAA provide funding for this research
Science News, Oct. 15, 2005 (emphasis added):
- Freshwater springs erupt on seafloor near many shores
- At some sites, water flows from onshore aquifers to sea through porous rocks and then seeps up through seafloor
- Scientists [are now] more aware of large volume of submarine groundwater discharge in some locations
- Factor that controls submarine groundwater discharge is elevation of water table on land [adding] more pressure on water in aquifers and more readily water is driven offshore
- Radon […] a radioactive element found in nearly all soil and rock […] groundwater contains much higher concentrations of [it] than seawater
- Another technology to identify seepage sites works somewhat as ground-penetrating radar [and this] method is far quicker than [radon]
- Temperature differences can easily be exploited to find discharge sites, [experts] from University of Tokyo said […] near Shiranui, Japan, these scientists used thermal infrared-imaging equipment to scan sea surface […] ocean temperature was about 14°C warmer than groundwater
Head of the Groundwater Research Group at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology: “Groundwater also flows beneath the seafloor […] contaminated groundwater could spring up outside the port.”