AVATAR-Soils Database: A Database of 137Cs and 239+240Pu in Equatorial and Southern Hemisphere Reference Soils

A total of 1122 reference soil profiles with 137Cs and 239+240Pu data from 135 publications were included to build a database under the AVATAR Project (“A reVised dATing framework for quantifying geomorphological processes during the AnthRopocene”), with a focus on compiling available data from the Equatorial and Southern Hemisphere regions. The AVATAR-Soils Database covers parts of the continents of Asia and the Sub-Saharan Africa, and the whole of Oceania and South America. The 137Cs (decay-corrected to 2024) and 239+240Pu data extracted from the literature include the inventory (in Bq/m2) and average activities (in Bq/kg) of the soil profile collected, and the 137Cs/239+240Pu activity and 239Pu/240Pu atomic ratios. In addition to the 137Cs and 239+240Pu data, the associated spatial, climatic, and topographic parameters and sampling details were also added in the database. The database contains the metadata describing the column names, separate tabs for 137Cs and 239+240Pu, and the list of publications.

 To cite the AVATAR-Soils Database, please use:

Dicen, G., Guillevic, F., Gupta, S., Chaboche, P.-A., Meusburger, K., Sabatier, P., Evrard, O., and Alewell, C.: Distribution and sources of fallout 137Cs and 239+240Pu in Equatorial and Southern Hemisphere reference soils, Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-509, in review, 2024.