Marine plankton as an indicator of low-level radionuclide contamination in the Southern Ocean

• Main Authors: Marsh, K.V., Buddemeier, R.W.
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; RADIOISOTOPES; BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION; ANTARCTIC OCEAN; BERYLLIUM 7; CESIUM 144; EXPERIMENTAL DATA; NIOBIUM 95; PACIFIC OCEAN; PLANKTON; POTASSIUM 40; RADIOACTIVE AEROSOLS; RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION; THORIUM 228; URANIUM 235; URANIUM 238; ACTINIDE ISOTOPES; ACTINIDE NUCLEI; AEROSOLS; ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES; ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES; ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; AQUATIC ORGANISMS; BERYLLIUM ISOTOPES; BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; BETA-PLUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; CESIUM ISOTOPES; COLLOIDS; DATA; DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES; DISPERSIONS; ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION; ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES; EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI; EVEN-ODD NUCLEI; HEAVY NUCLEI; INFORMATION; INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI; ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES; ISOTOPES; LIGHT NUCLEI; MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES; NIOBIUM ISOTOPES; NUCLEI; NUMERICAL DATA; ODD-EVEN NUCLEI; ODD-ODD NUCLEI; POTASSIUM ISOTOPES; SEAS; Antarctic; Southern Ocean; Pacific; Antarctic Ocean; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/6802363; https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6802363; https://doi.org/10.2172/6802363

We have initiated an investigation of the utility of marine plankton as bioconcentrating samplers of low-level marine radioactivity in the southern hemisphere. A literature review shows that both freshwater and marine plankton have trace element and radionuclide concentration factors (relative to water) of up to 10/sup 4/. In the years 1956-1958, considerable work was done on the accumulation and distribution of a variety of fission and activation products produced by the nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands. Since then, studies have largely been confined to a few selected radionuclides, and by far most of this work has been done in the northern hemisphere. We participated in Operation Deepfreeze 1981, collecting 32 plankton samples from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Glacier on its Antarctic cruise, while Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories concurrently sampled air, water, rain and fallout. We were able to measure concentrations of the naturally occurring radionuclides /sup 7/Be, /sup 40/K and the U and th series, and we believe that we have detected low levels of /sup 144/Ce and /sup 95/Nb in seven samples ranging as far south as 68/sup 0/. There is a definite association between the radionuclide content of plankton and air filters, suggesting that aerosol resuspension of marine radioactivity may be occurring. Biological identification of the plankton suggests a possible correlation between radionuclide concentration and foraminifera content of the samples. 38 references, 7 figures, 3 tables.