Polonium-210: Its vertical oceanic transport by zooplankton metabolic activity |
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| Authors: | RD Cherry SW Fowler TM Beasley M Heyraud |
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| Institution: | International Laboratory of Marine Radioactivity, IAEA, Musée Océanographique, Principality of Monaco France |
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| Abstract: | An earlier work based on atmospheric input of 210Po to oceanic surface waters, in situ production from its radioactive precursors and its measured equilibrium concentration has shown that 210Po is removed from the upper mixed layer at a rapid rate, expressible by a turnover (or mean residence) time of 0.6 years. Since 210Po is known to be highly concentrated in numerous marine species, a method was devised to assess the importance of marine zooplankton in removing this radio-nuclide from the surface waters. Measurements of 210Po losses from living zooplankton lead to a rapid turnover time of the order of 0.9 years due to zooplankton metabolic activity alone. It is shown experimentally that fecal pellet deposition constitutes a major mechanism in transporting the radionuclide from surface to deeper waters. |
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