Japan, 2011
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake 80 miles off the northeast coast of Japan triggered a series of tsunamis that struck nearby shorelines with only a few minutes’ warning. The disaster left dozens of villages along nearly 200 miles of coast heavily damaged or completely destroyed.
The waves, some of which measured more than 40 feet, also struck the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant 150 miles north of Tokyo, disabling the plant’s emergency systems and, over the following weeks, resulted in the largest accidental release of radiation to the environment in history. Because of the plant’s location, much of this contamination washed into the Pacific. Additional, airborne radioactive material likely fell onto the sea surface, where it too mixed into the water.
From Oceanus Magazine
[ ALL ]
May 9, 2013
Communication in the Fukushima Crisis
How did officials, scientists, and the media perform?
WHOI News Releases
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October 25, 2012
Fishing for Answers off Fukushima
Japan fisheries data provides a look at how the ocean is faring 18 months after the worst accidental release of radiation to the ocean in history
April 2, 2012
Sampling the Pacific for Signs of Fukushima
International team releases findings from 2011 cruise to measure the concentration, distribution, and biological impacts of radiation from damaged Japanese nuclear power plant