Figure 1. Distribution of the inventory of cesium-137 (137Cs) in seawater originating from global fallout due to atmospheric nuclear weapons testing.

Inventories of cesium-137 (137Cs) in water columns between 300 to 1500 m depths were calculated using vertical profiles of the 137Cs concentration in seawater observed from the surface (about 10 m depth) to about 100 m above the bottom. Compared to the Yamato Basin, the Japan Basin had larger inventories of radionuclides in middle-deep layers because of vertical convection of surface seawater in the Japan Basin.

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