Anthropogenic radionuclides, such as Uranium-236, Plutonium isotopes, Strontium-90, Caesium-137 and Americium-241 were introduced into the environment via (atmospheric) nuclear weapons tests during the 1950s and 1960s and they can be used for a wide range of applications including uptake, migration and environmental behaviour studies, oceanographic tracing, environmental monitoring, dose assessment. 

However, each nuclear release event comprised a unique mix of radioisotopes and understanding the contribution of individual releases (or sites) to the contribution to the radioisotope yield in a given sample is clearly important for the interpretation of the data.

For this project, corals from various location near the Montebello Islands, the site of three nuclear weapons tests in Australia, will be analysed and the relative contributions of the Montebello and Pacific Proving Ground tests. We also have other various marine sample types, including sediment, metallic debris, radioactive particles and marine flora that can also be analysed depending on student interests. This requires working in a chemistry laboratory to extract a suit of radionuclides from the respective samples; however, no prior chemistry knowledge is required. Some projects may involve additional collaboration involving detection spectrometry, synchrotron-based techniques and/or electron microscopy with external organisations such as ANSTO, ARPANSA and an assortment of domestic universities. The temporal variation of the isotopic concentrations and ratios, with particular emphasis around the years 1952 and 1956 when the tests took place, will be measured at the 14-million-volt accelerator at the ANU.