An International Collaboration to Study Soil Profiles of Chernobyl Fallout Radionuclides

2007年秋季的国际计划访问将使三名美国高级研究人员和一名初级研究人员能够前往瑞典和波兰进行实地工作，进行初步抽样和数据分析，以确定土壤中切尔诺贝利放射性核素的命运和运输。美国首席研究员是凯斯西医学院的杰拉尔德·马提索夫（Gerald Matisoff），联合研究人员是北亚利桑那大学的迈克尔·凯特勒（Michael Ketterer）和凯斯西医学院的彼得·怀廷（Peter Whiting）。他们的国际合作者是克拉科夫Henryk Niewodniczaski核物理研究所的Jerzy Mietelski，以及乌普萨拉瑞典农业科学大学的Klas Rosen和Ingrid Oborn。规划访问的目的是利用美国和国际合作伙伴的专业知识，并通过访问采样地点和现有数据集，扩大对控制土壤中放射性核素的基本过程的理解和量化。从这项工作中收集的初步数据将用于制定随后的研究计划，供国家科学基金会考虑。了解控制土壤中放射性核素的因素可能有助于更好地估计土壤过程和沉积物运输的速率和机制，这对基础和应用地球科学具有相当大的价值。如果成功，这项工作可能有助于我们了解输送到土壤表面的化学品对健康的影响，并导致制定更明智的程序来应对污染物的释放。这种国际合作通过让美国本科生、研究生和博士后研究人员参与新样品的实验室分析，以及准备样品和数据，以便在课程和高级顶点项目中发布和更广泛地使用，进一步建设教育和培训能力。

0745066MatisoffThis international planning visit during fall 2007 will enable three US senior researchers and one junior researcher to travel to Sweden and Poland for field work to carry out preliminary sampling and data analysis to determine the fate and transport of Chernobyl-derived radionuclides in soils. The US principal investigator is Gerald Matisoff of Case Western School of Medicine and the co-PIs are Michael Ketterer of Northern Arizona University and Peter Whiting of Case Western School of Medicine. Their international collaborators are Jerzy Mietelski of The Henryk Niewodniczaski Institute of Nuclear Physics in Krakow, and Klas Rosen and Ingrid Oborn of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala. The purpose of the planning visit is to leverage the expertise of the US and international partners and, through access to sampling sites and existing data sets, expand the understanding and quantification of fundamental processes controlling radionuclides in soils. The preliminary data collected from this effort will be used in the formulation of a subsequent research proposal for NSF consideration. Understanding the factors controlling radionuclides in soils will likely enable better estimates of rates and mechanisms of soil processes and of sediment transport, which have considerable value to basic and applied earth science. If successful, this work may help us understand the health implications of chemicals delivered to the soil surface and lead to better informed procedures for responding to the release of contaminants. This international cooperation furthermore builds capacity in education and training by including U.S. undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral researchers in laboratory analysis of new samples and the preparation of samples and data for release and wider use in courses and senior capstone projects.