Mosses as Bioindicators of Atmospheric Radionuclide Deposition: Evidence from Iğdır, Türkiye
WATER, AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION, cilt.237, sa.1279, ss.1-18, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 237 Sayı: 1279
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s11270-026-09960-w
- Dergi Adı: WATER, AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Natural Science Collection (ProQuest), Biomedical Reference Collection: Corporate Edition (EBSCO), Earth, Atmospheric, & Aquatic Science Collection (ProQuest), Health Research Premium Collection (ProQuest), Scopus, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), ABI/INFORM, Artic & Antarctic Regions, BIOSIS, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Compendex, EMBASE, Environment Index, Geobase, Greenfile, CAB Abstracts, Zoological Record
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-18
- Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This study discusses radionuclide records in bryophytes in Iğdır Province, located approximately 16 km from the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant in Armenia. Iğdır’s topography, limited air circulation, and elevation-dependent precipitation distribution make the region sensitive to atmospheric radionuclide deposition. The activities of 137Cs, 21⁰Pb, 22⁶Ra, 4 ⁰K, and 232Th were determined by HPGe gamma spectrometry in moss samples collected from six different stations in the Iğdır Plain and the mountainous areas to the south-southwest, and 21⁰Pbₑₓ was subsequently calculated from total 21⁰Pb and 22⁶Ra activities. The findings indicate that the activities of 13⁷Cs and 21⁰Pbₑₓ increase with elevation, and Spearman rank correlation analysis supports the presence of a strong positive association (ρ=0.943, p=0.017). Exploratory PCA suggested a separation between radionuclides potentially associated with geogenic sources (22⁶Ra, 4 ⁰K, 232Th) and those potentially associated with atmospheric deposition ( 13⁷Cs, 21⁰Pb). Normalization of 13⁷Cs to 21⁰Pbₑₓ and 4 ⁰K provided additional context for distinguishing the anthropogenic signal from the natural geochemical background. In particular, the marked increase in the 13⁷Cs/4 ⁰K ratio at high elevations is consistent with a possible contribution of atmospheric wet deposition to 13⁷Cs accumulation, rather than changes in 4 ⁰K. The results suggest that mosses may reflect atmospheric radionuclide accumulation with high sensitivity under closed-basin conditions and provide an upto-date radiological reference dataset for the region.