Model depiction of the atmospheric flows of radioactive cesium emitted from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident

In this study, a new method is proposed for the depiction of the atmospheric transportation of the 137 Cs emitted from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident. This method employs a combination of the results of two aerosol model ensembles and the hourly observed atmospheric 137 Cs concentration at surface level during 14–23 March 2011 at 90 sites in the suspended particulate matter monitoring network. The new method elucidates accurate transport routes and the distribution of the surface-level atmospheric 137 Cs relevant to eight plume events that were previously identified. The model ensemble simulates the main features of the observed distribution of surface-level atmospheric 137 Cs. However, significant differences were found in some cases, and this suggests the need to improve the modeling of the emission scenario, plume height, wet deposition process, and plume propagation in the Abukuma Mountain region. The contributions of these error sources differ in the early and dissipating phases of each event, depending on the meteorological conditions.