Quintessa

Coastal & Marine Systems

AMBER has been used to model marine and sediment processes including contaminant transport via marine biota and sea to land transfer processes.

A systems level model of marine and sediment dynamics has been developed using AMBER for assessing the concentrations of contaminants in the seas around Dounreay. The model included transfers between sediment and water compartments for the foreshore water, initial mixing zone, local and regional marine water, and was calibrated to a more detailed model developed by HR Wallingford. Furthermore, the fate of radionuclides released to the marine environment has been modelled by AMBER including their uptake by marine biota and sea to land transfer processes.

The marine environment was one of the potential receptor ecosystems for radionuclides that might be released from SKB’s proposed KBS3 spent fuel repository, as presented in the SR-Site assessment.  A marine reference model was developed and implemented in AMBER in support of SSM’s review of the SR-Site assessment.

 

Marine EnvironmentImages copyright of Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd and NDA.