This 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.
