Studies on the Transport of Coastal Water from the English Channel to the Baltic Sea Using Radioactive Tracers (Mast Project)

Radionuclides discharged from La Hague is used to trace transport and dispersal of coastal water masses. A time-series of radionuclide measurements in water samples taken in the English Channel, at the Netherlands coast, in the German North Sea sector and in Danish waters is being performed. Rates of water transport, dilution of the coastal current with other water masses and transit times will be elucidated.

Radionuclide ratios facilitate tracing of specific discharges in spite of dilution. This will contribute significantly to the knowledge of transit routes, transit times and mixing. The data will be used to improve models capable of describing the transport quantitatively. The results from the sampling programme will furthermore provide a unique data set for validating other models.

The programme runs under the EEC Marine Science and Technology programme (MAST) during a 3 year period commencing October 1990. The work will mainly be based on the analysis of technetium-99 and antimony-125 in seawater, but other radionuclides will also be considered. The programme will be outlined and preliminary data presented.