Abstract
Tritium inventories are given for the Pacific Ocean from 51°N to 60°S. As expected, the highest inventories are found north of 20°N. Inventories drop rapidly from 20°N to 10°N. From 10°N southwards, inventories in the top 500 m are essentially constant. From these data, it is calculated that 107±21 kg of tritium were present in the Pacific Ocean in 1970. A total of ∼ 300±80 kg of tritium was present on the Earth's surface in 1970. This indicates that 550±160 kg of tritium have been produced by nuclear detonations. It is estimated that 62% of the tritium in the Pacific Ocean was added through molecular exchange, 5% through runoff from the continents, and 33% as precipitation.
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Michel, R. Tritium inventories of the world oceans and their implications. Nature 263, 103–106 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/263103a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/263103a0
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