137Cs baseline levels in the Mediterranean and Black Sea: A cross-basin survey of the CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch programme
Résumé
The common mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis was selected as unique biomonitor species to implement a regional monitoring programme, the CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch (MMW), in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. As of today, and upon standardization of the methodological approach, the MMW Network has been able to quantify 137Cs levels in mussels from 60 coastal stations and to produce the first distribution map of this artificial radionuclide at the scale of the entire Mediterranean and Black Seas. While measured 137Cs levels were found to be very low (usually <1 Bq kg-1 wet wt) 137Cs activity concentrations in the Black Sea and North Aegean Sea were up to two orders of magnitude higher than those in the western Mediterranean Basin. Such effects, far from representing a threat to human populations or the environment, reflect a persistent signature of the Chernobyl fallout in this area. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Mots clés
Coastal stations
Mediterranean Mussel Watch (MMW)
Cesium compounds
cesium 137
bioavailability
biomonitoring
bivalve
cesium isotope
concentration (composition)
hydrographic survey
quantitative analysis
radionuclide
article
biological monitoring
controlled study
Mediterranean Sea
mussel
Mytilus galloprovincialis
nonhuman
pollution monitoring
sea pollution
Black Sea
Eurasia
Mediterranean Sea (West)
Bivalvia
Biodiversity
Concentration (process)
Radioisotopes
Baseline levels