12

In contrast,

the old soil has well-developed Ay and A,

horizons and supports dense vegetation, which produces a heavy
litter fall during the dry season and which contributes to the
redistribution of radionuclides in the system.
Sea birds nest in the vegetation and land crabs, predominantly Birgus latro and Coenobita perlatus, burrow in the soil.
Earthworms are seldom found and terrestrial isopods,
found in old soils on some islets,

are few.

although

There are also

few soil insects, which are mainly tenebrionid and carabid
beetles as well as ants,

Depth Gradient of Gamma Spectra

old Soil
The gamma spectra, with background subtracted,
l~inch,

1 to 2~-inch,

of the 0 to

and 9 to 10-inch depth increments from old

soil collected in March 1959 are given in Fig. 5.

The spectra

of the increments between 2 inches and 9 inches have been
omitted from the figure for clarity but show a gradual change
from the condition at 1 to 2 inches to that at 9 to 10 inches.
The radionuclides corresponding to the photopeaks are indicated
in the

figure.

The photopeaks of co°?,

gn°>,

Mn?“ ,

144

cet *4_py 4

and Eut?? show significant counts in the surface increments but
are not detectable in samples from greater depths.

The amounts

of es??? and spi? decrease and the proportions of cs)37 and

2

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