Predicted Caesium-137 Deposition Across Great Britain from 1985

A 1985 prediction of Caesium-137 deposition from atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, modeled at a 5 by 5 km resolution across Great Britain. The dataset was produced by the Environmental Information Data Centre using precipitation data from Milford Haven and a UKCIP precipitation dataset.

Use Cases

• Model long-term environmental persistence of radiocaesium (Cs-137) from 1985 deposition predictions.
• Analyze spatial patterns of predicted Cs-137 deposition relative to meteorological geographical features and precipitation data.
• Assess historical contamination from atmospheric nuclear weapons tests for radioecology and human health safety studies in the United Kingdom.

Strengths

• Provides a spatially explicit prediction at a 5 by 5 km resolution across Great Britain.
• Focuses on a specific, historically significant contaminant (Caesium-137) from atmospheric nuclear weapons tests.
• Model methodology is documented and uses measured data from a specific site (Milford Haven).

Limitations

• Prediction is for a single snapshot date (31 December 1985), lacking temporal dynamics.
• Model is an extrapolation from a single measurement location, which may not capture all spatial variability.
• Dataset size, row count, and specific data columns are unknown, limiting assessment of analytical scope.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre

Collection Method

Modeled prediction using a ratio of Cs-137 deposition and precipitation measured at Milford Haven, extrapolated with a UKCIP precipitation dataset.

Time Range

Prediction for 31 December 1985.

Freshness

Metadata was last updated in March 2026, though the underlying prediction is from 1985.

Geography

Great Britain