Abstract: | The influence of mean annual rainfall and soil texture on the 137Cs vertical distribution in soils from southern Chile The influence of mean annual rainfall and soil texture on the vertical distribution of 137Cs from global fallout was studied in undisturbed volcanic ash soils from southern Chile. The areal concentration and translocation depth increase with the mean annual precipitation. In spite of the high rainfall at the sampled area (970 - 2500 mm a?1), the highest 137Cs contamination was found in the upper 10 cm layer. The vertical migration is reduced by the high adsorption capacity of these volcanic ash soils, but on the other side increased in soils with high large-pore volumen. The translocation depth reaches only up to 26 cm in the clay soils, 35 cm in the silty soils and 70 cm in the sandy soil. |