RADIOACTIVITY OF OPEN-SEA PLANKTON SAMPLES,
Abstract
Samples of marine organisms of the deep sea were collected by Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) and were later analyzed by SIO and the U. S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory (NRDL). The objective was to ascertain and to report on the general relationship pertinent to the uptake of fission products by the marine organisms in order to form a background for more extensive tests on Operation Wigwam. Gross beta activities, beta absorption curves and gamma spectra were analyzed, after identification of the organisms. A radiochemical analysis was also performed. It was found: (1) that marine organisms concentrate activity from fallout fission products in the water by factors of the order of 1,000, (2) that the partition of fallout fission products in the ocean is profoundly influenced by biological processes and that a purely physical model is inadequate to predict distribution, (3) that the feeding mechanism of the organism does not clearly determine the amount of activity assimilated, (4) that there is evidence of fractionation of isotopes by different organisms, and (5) that there is some evidence that finely despersed activity is retained more or less proportionally with the dry weight of the organism. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 18, 1958
- Accession Number
- AD0465307
Entities
People
- F. D. Jennings
- M. W. Johnson
- T. R. Folsom
Organizations
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography