[en] There is currently a focus on radioactivity and the Arctic region. The reason for this is probably the high number of nuclear sources in parts of the Arctic and the vulnerability of Arctic systems to radioactive contamination. The Arctic environment is also perceived as a wilderness and the need for the protection of this wilderness against contamination is great. In the last decade information has also been released concerning the nuclear situation which has caused concern in many countries. Due to such concerns, the International Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (IAEPS) was launched in 1991 and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) was established. AMAP is undertaking an assessment of the radioactive contamination of the Arctic and its radiological consequences. In 1996 IAEPS became part of the Arctic Council. AMAP presented one main report in 1997 and another in 1998. There are also several other national, bilateral and international programmes in existence which deal with this issue. This paper summarises some of current knowledge about sources of radioactive contamination, vulnerability, exposure of man, and potential sources for radioactive contamination within Arctic and some views on the future needs for work concerning radioactivity in Arctic. (au)

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[en] Complete text of publication follows. It is well known that the interannual variability of the stratospheric winters over the Arctic is very large. Based on data of more than 60 winters this variability has been studied with the aim of understanding and possibly forecasting the type of the coming winter, in the stratosphere and also in the troposphere. Today, there is general agreement that the variability of the stratospheric circulation during the Arctic winters is due to different forcing mechanisms: To the tropospheric planetary waves which penetrate into the stratosphere; to the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) and the Southern Oscillation (SO) in the Tropics which influence the stratospheric polar vortex; and to the 11-year sunspot cycle (SSC) which interacts with the QBO and probably also with the SO. For the winter 2008/09 all of the known signals pointed to a stable, cold stratospheric polar vortex throughout the winter, but in the real atmosphere a Major Midwinter Warming (MMW) developed in January and February with record breaking temperatures. The synoptics of this winter will be discussed in the context of all of the above mentioned forcing mechanisms.

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[en] Published in summary form only

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[en] The aim of the study was to determine the easily available fraction of ¹³⁷Cs in soil as a function of pollution load as well as the association of ¹³⁷Cs inorganic and mineral soil constituents using sequential extraction technique. (au)

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