Metadata details
AAS_4156_Macquarie_Island_137Cs_data
All scientific data collected by the Australian Antarctic program (AAp) are eventually described in the Catalogue of Australian Antarctic and Subantarctic Metadata (CAASM). CAASM can be used to search through AAp data descriptions, and it also provides links to access publicly available datasets, which can either be immediately downloaded or obtained from the Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AADC).
- Citation
- Saunders, K. (2023) 137 Caesium (Cs) measurements in a Macquarie Island lake sediment core, Ver. 1, Australian Antarctic Data Centre - doi:10.26179/9zkj-6g87, Accessed: 2026-08-21
- Title
- 137 Caesium (Cs) measurements in a Macquarie Island lake sediment core
- Data Centre
- Australian Antarctic Data Centre, Australia
- DOI
- doi:10.26179/9zkj-6g87
- Created Date
- 2021-11-12
- Revision Date
- 2026-05-05
- Parent record
- None
Datasets and documents
Related links
Description
These 137 Caesium (Cs) data are the first for Macquarie Island and are evidence of atmospheric nuclear weapons fallout during the mid-late 20th century. The samples are from a lake sediment core collected from a small, unnamed lake.
A 54.0 cm sediment core was collected in 2010. It was sampled at 0.5 cm increments. Six samples from the top 17.0 cm were analysed by gamma spectrometry for 137Cs. The aim was to determine the onset, peak and decline in evidence of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing.
Gamma spectrometry measurements were made at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (https://www.ansto.gov.au/about/what-we-do/nuclear-stewardship/nuclear-stewardship-science-group/environmental-radioactivity)
Spreadsheet details
1. Notes – information on the sediment core and description of the 137Cs_unnamed_lake data spreadsheet
2. 137Cs_unnamed_lake
Samples collected from an unnamed Lake west of Major Lake, Macquarie Island.
Fieldwork conducted in March 2010
Analyses conducted between January-December 2015
Access
These data are publicly available for download from the provided URL.
Temporal Coverages
- Start date: 2019-01-01 - Stop date: 2019-12-31
- Start date: 2010-03-01 - Stop date: 2010-03-31
Spatial Coverages
Science Keywords
- EARTH SCIENCE > HUMAN DIMENSIONS > ECONOMIC RESOURCES > ENERGY PRODUCTION/USE > NUCLEAR ENERGY PRODUCTION/USE
- EARTH SCIENCE > PALEOCLIMATE > OCEAN/LAKE RECORDS
- EARTH SCIENCE > CLIMATE INDICATORS > PALEOCLIMATE INDICATORS > OCEAN/LAKE RECORDS > SEDIMENTS
- EARTH SCIENCE > TERRESTRIAL HYDROSPHERE > WATER QUALITY/WATER CHEMISTRY > SOLIDS > SEDIMENTS
- EARTH SCIENCE > HUMAN DIMENSIONS > ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS > NUCLEAR RADIATION EXPOSURE
- EARTH SCIENCE > PALEOCLIMATE > OCEAN/LAKE RECORDS > ISOTOPES
- EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS > LAKE/POND
Additional Keywords
- FALLOUT
- NUCLEAR MONITORING
- CAESIUM
- 4156
- AAS 4156
Locations
- OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN
- GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR
Platforms
- LABORATORY
- FIELD SURVEYS
Instruments
- SEDIMENT CORERS
Researchers
- saunders, krystyna (INVESTIGATOR,TECHNICAL CONTACT,DIF AUTHOR)
Use Constraints
This data set conforms to the CCBY Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Please follow instructions listed in the citation reference provided at http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/citation.cfm?entry_id=AAS_4156_Macquarie_Island_137Cs_data when using these data.
