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Hull, E. W. SeabrookThe Atom and the Ocean, Understanding the AtomSeries.Atomic Energy Commission, Oak Ridge, Tenn. Div. ofTechnical Information.6866p.U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, P. O. Box 62, OakRidge, Tennessee 37830 (free)

EDRS Price MF-$0.50 BC Not Available from EDRS.*Earth Science, *Nuclear Physics, *Oceanology,Radioisotopes, *Fesearch Tools, *Resource Materials

ABSTRACTIncluded is a brief description of the

characteristics of the ocean, its role as a resource for food andminerals, its composition and its interactions with land and air. Therole of atomic physics in oceanographic exploration is illustrated bythe use of nuclear reactors to power surface and submarine researchvessels and the design and use of techniques based on isotopes.Descriptions of techniques such as neutron activation analysis anddeep water isotopic current analysis are included. The analysis ofplankton to measure man-made radiation in the ocean is described.Nuclear devices used to preserve sea food and desalinate sea waterare discussed. Some non-radiation oceanographic projects aredescribed. Suggested readings and a film list are appended. (AL)

The ATOMand the OCEAN

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The Understanding the Atom Series

Nuclear Energy is playing a vital role in the life of everyman, woman, and child in the United States today. In theyears ahead it will affect ;ncreasingly all the peoples of theearth. It is essential that all Americans gain an understandingof this vital force if they are to discharge thoughtfully theirresponsibilities as citizens and if they are to realize fully themyriad benefits that nuclear energy offers them.

The United States Atomic. Energy Commission providesthis booklet to help you achieve such understandirig.

Edwatd J. Brunenkant, DirectorDivision of Technical Information

UNITED STATES ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSI0i4

Dr. Glen T. Seabott ChairmanJanes T. RameyWilfrid I. JohnsonThaos J. Thompson

The ATOIlland the OCEANby E. W. Seabrook HO

CONTENTS

SEEKING ANSWERS 1

Energy for Exploration 3

THE WORLD OCEAN 6Ocean Movements 7A Mix of Elements 10The Sea's Interfaces 11

The Sea's Resources 11

NUCLEAR ENERGY'S ROLE 13Radionuclides in the Sea 13Research Projects 23Oceanographic Instruments 35Environmental Salety Studies 41

The Atom at Work in the S1?-3 42Ocean Engineering 51

Fresh Water from Seawater 52Radiation Preservation of Sealood 54Project Nawshare 55A New From 56

THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL OCEAN 57

SUGGESTED fiEFERENCES 58

UniteJ States Atomic Energy Commission

Ussery e Canvas: Cstaloq Card Number 67-62476

Division of lechnkai Information

1965

I

1

The ATOMand the OCEANBy E. W. SEABROOK HULL

SEEKING ANSWERS

Historians of the future will record that man almostsimultaneously unlocked the secret f atomic energy andventured into new domains beneath the closed doors of theworld ocean, in one of the greatest exploration endeavorsof all time.

History may also show how these two efforts to benefitmankind became closely interthreaded how nuclear en-ergy, in its many forms and applications, played a majorrole in the efforts to explore and exploit "the other three-quarters" of our planet, and moreover, how the very devel-opment of a nuclear technology enforced our need to knowmore about the sea around us.

tsitclear energy is a fundamental physical phenomenon,like the actions of the wheel, the lever, or the inclinedplane. Like chemical combustion or electricity, it Is butanother means for men to do useful work, whether thatwork be in the interests of science, commerce, recrea-tion, or war. To this extent, Pluclear energy is universal,as applicable in the sea as it is on land or in outer space.Wherever man goes and whatever he does, he requiresenergy to get him there and energy for his work or playwhen he arrives. Some of the places he now seeks topioneer are hard to investigate by anyone encumbered withbulky traditional energy sources coal, fuel oil, or storagebatteries. The ocean in its full three-dimensional scope isone of these places.

The atom is the most concentrated source of energy, andone of the most diverse. Thus, not only are we able to dofamiliar things better with nuclear energy (the nuclear-powered submarine is a dramatic example), 'a it we arealso able to du things never before possible (such asstudying the diffusion of dissolved salts in the open oceanor extending the useful life of seafoods through irradiation).

Nuclear energy has at last enabled us to realize the pre-dictions of Jules Verne's adventure tale, TUTPIly ThousandLeagues Under !hr Sra, and to build a true submarineacraft whose submerged existence is limited only by thephysiological and psychological endurance of its humancrew. This fact in itself has added greatly to our need tolearn much more about the ocean, for the sea is an opaqueand strange environment in witch the deadly game of hunt-and-be-hunted will be won be whoever knows the oceanbest.

The very fact that we have nuclear energy means wehave nuclear wastes; many of these inevitably find their wayinto the ocean, as all things do. We need to know more aboutthe watery world before we can safely allow this inflowto continue.

re 1900 Ike t'. S. Netty eontatissioged its first soiniverite, the eSSHolland, which xas bialt by Joh* P. lloIleod. It is short* is dry dockat Perth Amboy, New. Jersey, III 185q. Oa Ike right is Ike VSSPlunger. swaged after ea early Joh !longed sabrtarive. which isam trample of the Nifty's present fleet of airtrer slrboariats.

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In the waters of the seven seas are enough deuteriumand tritium to power tomorrow's thermonuclear powerplants for millions of years. These rare, heavy varietiesof hydrogen, enormously abundant in the vastness of thesea, comprise an energy suurce without limit for allnations, which need only develop the technological abilifyto extract them and put them to work.

Energy for Exploration

For this exploration, men need to put instruments,navigation beacons (see figures on pages 46 and 41), andother devices on the deep ocean floor, where they must op-erate for long periods of time unattended and with no exter-nal source of power. Radioisotope-powered generators,capitalizing on the energy of disintegrating radioactiveatoms, are almost the only devices capable of fulfillingthese requirements.f Man also wants to do productive workunder the ocean, such as drilling sea floor oil wells, mining,and salvaging for profit some of the tens of thousands ofcargoes lost at sea during thousands of years of oceancommerce. Eventually, he even wants to farm the oceanfloor.

An artist drans (oosing pencil andfrosted plastic sheet) Me posi-tion of objects in the of reek of aiih centxry Bytantine ship 120feel down in Ike Aegean Sca.Note:car potter Kill Aerofoil his-torians of Me Moore to 1111112i4xmdernater for long periods et-Noring skipre reeks or old citiesfar bclok Me sxofacc.

All these activities require energyenergy In an envi-ronment where most sources cannot be applied. Above all,

'rot a description of how these will work, see Controlled Nn-clear roosion, another booklet in this series.

these devices, which will be frequently mentioned late r In thesepages, are described in detail In a companion booklet Power fromRadioisotopes.

3

man wants to go down himself to explore, to work, andperhaps to direct nuclear-powered robots to do even morework. This means that small, manned, nonmilitary sub-mersibles will be neededvessels whose endux ance shouldnot be limited by the short life of traditional power sources,but should draw on the fissioning atomic nucleus, harnessedin small reactors.'

To work effectively in any environment, we must firstknow and undersi'and it. This is the Job of science. In thequest for knowledge and understanding of the ocean, nu-clear energy provides scientists with better instruments toput down into the depths and wholly new techniques for thedirect study of the many oceanic processes.

For example, take the role of radioisotope tracers:For the first time, these telltale atoms permit us to studythe metabolism of tiny plankters, the often microscopicdrifting creatures of the sea that in their incredible abun-dance form the base of the entire marine food chain, in-cluding fish eaten by humans. Even fallout isotopes fromnuclear tests enable us to trace important physical ocean-ographic events, such as the ponderous process knownas overturning, which transports oxygen-rich surfacewater to the deeps and nutrient-rich bottom water to thesurface. Radioisotope tracers also provide a tool forstudying the mechanics of littoral transport, %filch con-tinually tears down some beaches and builds up others.They' also enable us to determine if oceanic processes arelikely to concentrate fallout particles and deliver them indangerous doses through the food chain to our dinner tables.t

By using other nuclear energy technology, we are betterable to ascertain the age and composition of deep oceansediments and the rate at which they are deposited, Howa tsunami (tidal wave) propagates across vast distances,how tides operate in the open ocean, where the brown shrimpof the Carolina coast go every fall, and the migration pat-terns of tuna, swordfish, and other valuable food fish.

'Sea Nactear Reactors, another booklet in this series, for a de-scription of the fission process and how reactors operate,

1For a full discussion of other aspects of this topic, see Fatimafrom Nat.:ear Tests, another booklet In this series.

4

Nary men preparing for tendersea research Sy feeding Ditty, afriendly porpoise, which later carried messages for them daringthe "Alan-ln-The-Sca" etperionent. (Also sel photos page 12.)

These are just a few of the answers we seek from theworld oceananswers important for more productive fish-eries, more accurate long-range weather forecasting,possible control of hurricanes and typhoons, pollution con-trol, safer and more economical shipping, better recrea-tion, and numerous other matters that bear on our health,well-being, and day-to-day lives.

On all these endeavors the ocean exerts a major influence.And In each, atomic energy is helping assemble and in-terpret answers.

THE WORLD OCEAN

But what of this environment into which, armed with theatom, we plunge with such enthusiasm and expectations? Aportrait is in order, which must be brief, for not all thebooks ever written about the sea have yet described it fully.

The world ocean covers 70.8% of our planet. It contains324,000,000 cubic miles of seawater. Living in it are up-wards of a million different species of plants and Animals.They range from one-celled organisms that can only beeen with a microscope to the largest creature ever to

have lived on this earththe giant blue (or sulfur-bottom)whale, captured specimens of which have exceeded 90 feetin length and 100 tons in weight.

The ocean's depth ranges from 600 feet or less abovecontinental shelves to more than 35,000 feet at the MarianasTrench. The mean depth is 12,451 feet. Sea bottom topog-raphy includes wide plains, the world's longest mountainrange, steeply rising individual truncated peaks calledgityots (pronounced gee-ohs), gentle slopes, narrow canyons,and precipitous escarpments. Mountains higher than Everestrise from the ocean floor and never pierce the surface.

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Underwater mountain traced by the Woods Hole OceanographicInstitution echo sounder in the Caribbean area. Depth is deter-mined by the time it takes the sound emitted by the instrument togo to the bottom and return to the surface.

6

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Ocean Movements

The ocean is constantly in motionnot just in the wavesand tides that characterize its surface but in great currentsthat swirl between continents, moving (among other things)great quantities of heat from one part of the world to

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Six ships checking the Gulf Stream'scourse through the Atlantic Oceanover a 2-week period found Owvariations shown above. The in-frared film photograph shows theedge of the Gulf Stream. The vis-ible line between the Gulf Stream,which is on the right, and Labra-dor water is made by Sargassumweed concentrated at the interface.

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another. Beneath these surface currents are others, deeplyhidden, that flow as often as not in an entirely differentdirection from the surface course.

These enormous "rivers"--quite unconstant, sometimesshifting, often branching and eddying in a manner thatdefies explanation and prediction occasionally createdisastrous results. One example is El Nirio, the periodiccatastrophe that plagues the west coast of South America.This coast normally is caressed by the cold, rich HumboldtCurrent. Usually the Humboldt hugs the shore and extends200 to 300 miles out to sea. It is rich in life. It fosters thelargest commercial fishery in the world and is the home ofone of the mightiest game fish on record, the black marlin.The droppings of marine birds that feed from its watersare responsible for the fertilizer (guano) exports thatundergird the Chilean, Peruvian, and Ecuadorian econ-omies.

Every few years, however, the Humboldt disappears.It moves out from shore or simply sinks, and a flow ofwarm, exhausted surface water known as El Milo takesits place. Simultaneously, torrential rains assault thecoast. Fishes and birds die by the millions. Commercialfisheries are closed. The beaches reek with death. ElMilo is a stark demonstration of man's dependence on thesea and why he must learn more about it.

There are other motions in the restless sea. The watermasses are constantly "turning over" in a cycle that maytake hundreds of years, yet is essential to bring oxygendown to the creatures of the deeps, and nutrients (fertilizers)up from the sea floor to the surface. Here the floatingphytoplankton (the plants of the sea) build through photo-synthesis the organic material that will start the nutrientcycle all over again. Enormous tonnages of these tiny seaplants, rather than being rooted in the soil, are separatedfrom solid earth by up to several vertical miles of salt-water. Sometimes, too, there is a more rapid surge of deepwater to the surface, a process known as upwelling.

Internal waves, far below the surface, develop betweenwater masses that have different densities and betweenwhich there is relative motion. These waves are muchlike the wind-driven waves on the surface, though much

8

A dividing cell of the diatom Corethronhystrix. Diatoms, one-celled photosyn-thetic plants, are the primary producersof organic matter in fresh waters.

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bigger: Internal waves may have heights of 300 feet ormore and be 6 miles or more in length!

Among other motions of the sea there are landslides, orturbidity currents, which are great boiling mixes of mud,rock, sand, and water rushing down submarine mountain-sides at speeds of a mile a minute. They destroy everythingin their paths and spread clouds of debris over the abyssalplains like a sandstorm, producing fanlike deposits radiatingfar out from the base of the slope. And there are tsunamis,or seismic sea waves popularly misnamed "tidal waves"that transmit energy from undersea earthquakes or volcaniceruptions. At sea, these waves are only a few inches high,

Ocean currents feed sand from nearbybeaches into this "sandfali ", which isabout 30 feet high, in a submarine can-yon off Baja California.

I

9

but they may travel great distances at 500 miles an hour.As they approach the shoaling waters of a coast, they areslowed to about 30 miles an hour and build up great surfacewaves capable of destroying harbor and coastal installations.

A Mix of Elements

The sea is a chemistry, too. Over 60 elements have beendiscovered in measurable amounts in solution or in suspen-sion in the ocean. Many of these are in the form of salts,making seawater a highly efficient electrolyte, and a mostcorrosive fluid. The study of corrosion and techniques forcombatting it is a continuous one in which nuclear energyalready has a principal role.

Because the sea is so much a chemistry, it is a potentialsource of minerals for the world's growing industrialappetite. All of our magnesium and most of our brominealready are extracted directly from seawater. Oil andsulfur are mined from the sea floor or beneath it, as arecoal (United Kingdom and Japan), iron ore (Japan), tin(Thailand and United Kingdom), diamonds (Southwest Africa),and gold (Alaska). In the layered sediments that cover theocean-basin floors to depths of thousands of feet, geologistsbelieve there also may be found some missing chapters ofearth history.

Nodules such as these containing man-ganese cover millions of undersea acreson the ocean floor. Many nodules arerich in nickel, cobalt, zirconium, andcopper. Metalllrgists are seeking waysto recover the metals from these de-posits.

The ocean, by and large, is an opaque fluid through whichlight travels only a few hundred feet and most other radiantenergy not much more than a few yards; yet through thissame fluid, sound waves, by contrast, have been trans-mitted and received over distances of many thousandmiles.

10

The Sea's Interfaces

What of the interfaces of the sea? Above three-quartersof the globe, water and air are in constant contact, con-tinually exchanging heat and moisture. This is a majorfactor in the making of weather and climate. The seaconstantly feeds electricity into the atmosphere, primarilythrough the electron-scrubbing action of tiny popping bub-bles at the sea surface. It also lifts tiny crystals of saltand the remains of microscopic sea creatures into the air.Perhaps these are the nuclei on which moisture condensesto trigger hurricanes, since it is the latent heat of vapor-ization of air, made over-moist by long travel over thetropical sea, that provides a hurricane's energy.

Along its land edges, the sea is constantly workingon the shore sometimes gently, sometimes violentlybreaking down rock cliffs, opening bays and harbors,closing channels and inlets, smashing breakwaters andseawalls, and moving sand up and down and to and frombeaches.

The Sea's Resources

In summary, then, the ocean, the largest single geo-graphical feature of our planet, is infinitely varied andinfinitely complex. We are learning it bears on our day-to-day living in ways we never suspected. It is the largestresource of food for our exploding population, the largestresource of minerals with which to support the world'sburgeoning industries, the largest resource of energy, and,of course, it is the largest supply of water. It is mankind'slargest dumping ground for the wastes of cities and in-dustries. It is the source of much pleasure and recreation.

Men already have lived experimentally for weeks at atime on the bottom of the ocean. Both sea floor labora-tories and military bases are being planned or, in a fewcases, installed. Sea floor mining complexes are in theconceptual design stage. It is only a matter of time beforerecreational "aquotels" are built safely below the sea'srestless surface. Private sports submarines are an actual,though costly, reality. It is not inconceivable that In the

11

not-too-distant future human beings may overflow the landinto complete, self-sufficient communities below the oceans.

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In 1965 the U. S. Navy conducted a45-day experiment in its "Alan-In-The-Sea" program in uhich 10 aqua-nauts lived and worked 205 feet be-ton. the surface of the sea off LaJolla, California. Their underseabase was Sealab II shown at herchristening above and during final

\ checkout before descent. The aqua-\nauts conducted experimental salvage'operations, marine research, and lin-\Amen, a series of physiological andhuman performance tests.

NUCLEAR ENERGY'S ROLE

The role of nuclear energy in the study, exploration, andutilization of the world ocean is best defined by citing thespecific oceanographic interests of the U. S. Atomic En-ergy Commission (AEC): Development of better instru-ments and devices for work and study in the ocean, devel-opment of ever-stronger national sea power, conversionof seawater to fresh water, possible modification of oceanboundaries, purely scientific studies to advance knowledge,and, indirectly at least, improving the state of oceano-graphic engineering. Among the technological products ofthe nuclear age are radionuclides, neutron sources andother radiation sources, radioisotope heat and electricgenerators, and nuclear reactors. All these are applied toocean-related endeavors.

Several divisions of the AEC have important oceanicinterests. These range from pure oceanographic researchto development of specific instruments, nuclear reactors,radioisotopic power sources, and other devices for use inor under the ocean. The AEC also conducts extensivemarine environmental studies to monitor the effects orensure the safety of specific projects involving nuclearenergy. A statistical summary of specific AEC programsin oceanography is shown in Table I on page 14.

Radionuclides in the Sea

Before we can follow the atom down into the sea, wemust understand something about the potentials, both goodand bad, of this incursion of one of our most advancedtechnologies into one of earth's least understood environ-ments. This adventurous probing has ramifications forstudying both man-produced radioactivity in the sea and theocean itself as an uncontaminated environment.

Radionuclides (radioactive atoms) can find their way intothe sea from natural radiation sources or from nuclearenergy operations undertaken by the United States and othercountries since 1945. Specific man-made sources in thepast may have included nuclear weapons tested in theatmosphere and under water, the cooling water and wastes

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AEC OCEANOGRAPHY PROGRAM

Research ActivitiesDivision of Biology and Medicine

Studies of uptake, concentration, distributionand effects of radioisotopes on marine life, ofgeochemical cycling of elements, and of geo-physical diffusion and transport.

Division of Research i, i "Geological dating of corals and other marineand terrestrial materials,

Division of Isotopes DevelopmentRadioisotope applications to devices for, .0amarine systems, such as current meters,analysis and recovery of sedimentary min-erals, and underwater sound transmission.

Division of Reactor Development and TechnologyStudies of factors affecting dissolution anddispersal of accidentally released radionu-clides, and site evaluations.

grDivision of Space Nuclear System

Nuclear power nources for seroiiiSee applica-tions. ,

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Division of Military ApplicationsOcean environmental observation and predic-

1968 ExpendituresEstimate

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Engineering Actitriiiiis

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fit 'TSDivision of Naval ItenotOia !-

Deep submergence "research vehla

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14

The Nansen bottle, shown being at-tached to a hydrographic wire, is oneof the standard tools of oceanology.When a bottle reaches a desireddepth, a sliding weight tips it upsidedown to collect seawater samples.Thermometers on the sides of thebottles record temperature. The de-vice was designed by the Norwegianoceanographer and ex plorer,FridljofNansen. (See photo on page 56.)

of nuclear reactors, laboratories and nuclear-poweredships, containers of radioactive waste disposed of at sea*,radioisotope energy devices, and intentional injection ofradioisotope tracers for scientific research. In the future,they may also include reentry from space of upper-stagenuclear rockets or satellite-borne nuclear energy sources.

In order to evaluate the effects of these materials in theocean environment, it is necessary to know many things.Just how much radiation is introduced? In what form?Where geographically? How are these radionuclides dis-persed or concentrated physically, chemically, biologi-cally, and geologically? What is the net result in eachcase now, and what will it be many years hence?

These questions are not answered easily. There is, asyet, no satisfactory laboratory substitute for the openocean. Research for the most part must be conducted atsea, where tests and measurements are difficult at best,and where results therefore are often suspect. Further, ifwe are to study the effects of man-induced changes in anatural environment, it would have been advantageous tohave known the nature of that environment before the

For a full discussion of this topic, and the safety measurestaken by the AEC in connection with it, see Radioactive Wastes,another booklet in this series.

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Table II CONCENTRATION AND AMOUNTS OF 42 OFTHE ELEMENTS IN SEAWATER

Element

Amount of element Total amount inConcentration in seawater the oceans

(mg/1) (tons miles) (tons)

Chlorine 19,000.0Sodium 10,600.0 .

Magnesium 1,350.0Sulphur 885.0Calcium' 400.0Potassium 380.0Bromine 65.0Carbon 28.0Strontium 8.0Boron , 4.6Silicon 3.0Lithium 0.17Rubidium 0.12Phosphorus 0.07Iodine 0.06Barium 0.03Indium 0.02Zinc 0,01Iron 0.01Aluminum 0.01Molybdenum 0.01Selenium 0.004Tin 0.003Copper 0.003Arsenic 0.003Uranium 0.003Nickel 0.002Vanadium 0.002Manganese 0.002Antimony 0,0005Cobalt 0.0005Caesium 0.0005Cerium 0.0004Silver 0.0003Cadmium 0.0001Tungsten 0.0001Chromium 0.00005Thorium . 0.00005Lead 0,00003Mercury 0.00003Gold 0.000004Radium 1 x 10-1$

89.5 x 10 29.3 x 10/49.5 x 10 16,3 x 10116.4 x 108 2.1 x 1014.2 x 10 - 1,4 x 10111.9 x 108 0.6 x 10111.8 x 108 0.6 x 1011306,000 0.1 x 1011132,000 0.04 x 101138,000 12,000 x 10123,000 7,100 x 10014,000 4,700 x 10/800 260 x lu'570 190 x 101330 110 x 101280 93 x 101140 47 x 10194 31 x 10$47 16 x 10847 16 x 101

, 47 16 x 1047 16 x 1019 6 x 10$14 , 5 x 10$1414 55 xx 110011

14 5 x 1019 3 x 1019 3 x 10

20.83 ,x( 11001

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2 0.8 x 1012 ' 0.8 x 10$2 . 0.6 x 10$1 5 x 10$0.5 _ 150 x 100.5 150 x 1010.2 , 78 x 10$

,0.2 ., 78 x 1010.1 ' 46 x 10 '0.1 46 x 100.02 6 x 105 x 10-8 , 150 ,,,,.

Adapted from The Allsterat Resources of (he Sea, by John L.Mero, American Elsevier Publishing Company, New York, 1964.

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changes were introducedwhich, by and large, in the caseof the ocean we do not. So we must start with a con-taminated environment and try to separate what we haveput there ourselves from what would have been thereanyway. It isn't an easy task to make the physical andbiological observations that will make this distinction.

Many sea creatures are efficient, selective concentra-tors of "trace elements'; which occur in seawater only inminute portions. These elements are difficult enough todetect qualitatively and all but impossible to analyzequantitatively. Yet among the elements the sea's plants andanimals concentrate are the very materials with which weare apt to be most concerned: Strontium, cesium, cerium,ruthenium, cobalt, iodine, phosphorus, zinc, manganese,iron, chromium, and others. Radioisotopes* of all theseelements occur as by-products of human nuclear activities.Many concentrating organisms are microscopic in sizeand are frequently impossible to raise in captivity. It isapparent that we are faced with a research program ofconsiderable challenge and proportion.

We need to know how each marine species concentrates.Is it from the food it eats, by absorption from the water, orboth? Does it concentrate an element by continuous ac-cumulation, or is there a constant turnover of the materialin the organism's system ? (In the first case, once thecreature became radioactive it would remain so throughoutits life or until the radioactivity decayed. In the secondcase, however, the radioactivity might be a transient con-dition, assuming the creature could find its way into uncon-taminated water and were able to flush itself.) Obviously,both the cycling time of the radioisotope in the organismand its radioactive half-lifet must be taken into account.

Even if we should manage to identify all the marine con-centrators and gain some insight into their metabolicprocesses, this would be only a first step., For example,one tiny form of planktonic protozoan, am:Maria, con-

*Radioisotopes, unstable forms of ordinary atoms, are dis-tinguishable by reason of their radioactivity, not by their biologicalor chemical activity.

1"The time.in which half of the atoms in a quantity of radioactivematerial lose their radioactivity.

17

centrates up to 15% of its own weight of strontium, includingthe radioisotope strontium-90. It is eaten by larger zoo-plankton (animals), such as copepods, which are eaten bylittle fish, which, in turn, are eaten by bigger fish, etc.Somewhere along this food chain, perhaps, a fish willcome along that is favored for human dinner tables. Nov.much strontium-90 has Thal fish accumulated throughswallowing its pro, and by absorption from the water?Is the radioacti% in its scales, bones, viscera, and otherusually uneaten portions, or in its flesh?

It is probable, though as yet by no means proven, thatamong the million or so oceanic species of plant andanirmi life, there are concentrators of virtually all theGo or more elements found in seawater. To identify andstudy them is an enormous undertaking, which is oftenpossible only by usig radioisotopes as tools.

And what of the immediate and genetic effects of radia-tion on each species? Studies of reef fish In .he nucleartesting area in the Marshall Islands have shown that radio-iodine in the water caused thyroid gland damage long afterthe amount of ra,iiolodine remaining in the water was toolow to be detected. Studies of salmon in the ColumbiaRiver have shown some physiological variations betweenthose fish whose eggs and young were reared in radioactivewaters and those that were not, though these variationshave not been determined to be statisticany significant ordifferent from variations caused by other contaminants.

Studies are being made of the reproductive efficiencyand patterns of sea creatures in a roA: Mon -contaminatedenvironment, compared with those in, an uncontaminatedenvironment, to learn such things as the numbers, survivalrates, and sex ratios of the offspring, and any geneticabnormalities or mutations. Many more studies are needed.Always, the task is made difficult by insufficient detailedknowledge of the original natural environment, the limita-tions of laboratory experiments, and th, mechanics oftrying to follow the reproductive cycles of fs..e-floating orswimming organisms in any statistically meaningful mannerthrough successive generations.

One obviously important kind of research deals with therate, pattern, and means by which radionuclides are dis-

is

tributed into the sea from a point source, such as the mouthof a river or a nuclear test site. Transport and diffusionof radioactivity can be, and are, influenced by physical,chemical, biological, or geological means, separately orall at once. This has led the AEC to support scientificstudies of currents, upwelling, downwelling, convergence,diffusion, mixing rates, air-sea interactions, chemical andgeological processes in the sea, and the horizontal andvertical migrations of sea life.Depth in fathoms

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1360

1400Tlits sound instrnment record reveals Ike layersof planktonic soundscatterers on ike ccmlinentol slope east of New England. Edck peakoriginates from an Individual growl) of organisms.

In much of the ocean there is an acoustic "floor", knownas the deep scattering foyer (because of what it does tosound waves), which is believed to consist primarily oftooplankton. Every 24 hours the layer migrates up anddown through several hundred feet of water. At night thecountless small animals grate in the rich sea-plant pasturesnear the surface; during daylight, back at the lower level,they undoubtedly are heavily fed upon by larger animals.Over a period of time, the layer accounts for considerablevertical transport of materials. (See figure above.) Otherlife forms may move materials still farther down, or, insome instances, back upas when the sperm whaledescends to the depths to fight and best a giant squid, andthen returns to the surface to eat it.

Constantly drifting downward is a great volume ofmaterial the dead budies, skeletons, excrement, and

14

other waste from sea life at all depths. As it sinks thereis a constant exchange of matter between it and the sur-rounding water through chemical, physical, and biologicalprocesses. Eventually, the molecules of material added tothe bottom sediments may be returned to the water mass bybacteriological action or the eating and living habits ofsea floor animals.

A school of skipjack bola pho-tographed 'roman sendernaterobrervation chamber on theresearch vessel CharlesGilbert.

Biological transport works in other ways, too. Mostpelagic (free-swimming) fish are great travelers. They ac-count for a tremendous movement of material, namelythemselves, from one place to another. Tuna, swordfish,whales, porpoises, and sea birds may travel thousands ofmiles in a single year. Such migrations may serve,variausly, as mechanisms for either dispersal or con-centration of elements or nutrients, The anadromous(river-ascending) fishes, such as salmon, herring, sturgeon,and shad, concentrate in freshwater streams in untoldnumbers to spawn. After hatching, the young seek the oceanand scatter widely until they, too, feel the urge to returnto the rivers and lakes whence they came, to spawn anddie there as did their ancestors.

Ocean currents may transport concentrations of radio-nuclides essentially undiluted for thousands of miles.Surface currents move at speeds of up to five knots(nautical miles per hour). Normally current waters do notmix readily with the water mass through which they pass.

20

Because of the slowness of vertical circulation in the ocean,radionuclides deposited on the surface of the ocean maytake a thousand years to reach the bottom. But the verticaltransport sometimes is much more rapid: When the windpiles too much water against a coastline, the resultantdownv..elling (sinking) may move radionuclides suddenly intothe deeper ocean. Or, conversely, when the wind and therotation of the earth combine to force the surface wateraway from the coast, deep water may suddenly rise toreplace it, a process known as upwelling.

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Some recant evidence indicates that the passage of ahurricane across the ocean drives surface water out fromthe storm center in all directions. This, too, producesupwelling. If radionuclides fall on Le Arctic ice pack oron the Greenland or Antarctic ice caps, it may be yearsbefore they are released to the sea. In more or less stableconditions at sea, radionuclides may remain trapped above

21

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the thermocline (a layer of sharp temperature changeusually less than 100 meters below the surface) for aconsiderable period. Then a severe storm may destroy thethermocline and mix the waters to much greater depths.

Winds of 100 knots Abend115 mph) Whip high waresto the Caribbean Sea eastof Gvadelompe Island dur-ing a hsrricane.

The process of diffusion in the ocean is not well under-stood, date both to the difficulty of the measurements thathave to be made and to the variety of other factors affectingboth vertical and horizontal transport of materials. Hereagain, however, the existence of radionuclides, introducedartificially at a known time and place, is materially aidingthese investigations by making a particular water massdetectable and traceable.

In chemical oceanography, the AEC is concerned withthe fact that in some instances our society is introducingelements, ions, and compounds that have not been naturallyfound in the sea, as well as natural materials in greaterconcentration than is normal. These may combine withother materials in the sea, changing into new forms orsubstances, or removing them from solution entirely. Anychange in the chemical composition of the ocean is quitelikely to have biological effects, some of which may provedetrimental to man.

A disturbance of the chemical balance of the sea isthought to be responsible, at least in part, for the periodic,disastrous plankton "blooms" known as "red tides". Sucha sudden, explosive overpopulation of plankton is a naturalphenomenon, but one that can be triggered by man-madepollution. When it occurs, plankton multiply so rapidly that

22

the oxygen in the water is depleted and inny fish die fromsuffocation.

Fortunately, nuclear energy operations account for anextremely small portion of the chemical contamination ofthe sea, when contrasted with the tremendous volume ofpoisons dumped daily into it In the form of other industrialand municipal waste and agricultural pesticides.

Research Projects

The AEC supports oceanographic research conducted byits own laboratories and by other federal agencies, as wellas by non-government research scientists, The Environ-mental Sciences 13ranch of the Division of Biology andMedicine has begun the long and complex task of unravelingthe mystery of the fate of radionuclides in the ocean.Valuable techniques have been developed for the intentionalinjection of radioisotopes info the sea for specific re-search. Scientists are now able to conduct investigationsthat were never before possible. In some instances, tradi-tional scientific concepts and theories have been shattered,or at least severely shaken, by new evidence gathered byradioisotope techniques.

Since 7Ori of the earth's surface is water, at least 701of the radioactive debris lofted into the stratosphere duringatmospheric nuclear weapons tests falls into the ocean.An additional small proportion finds its way into the seaas the run-off from the land. In the case of tests at sea,the majority of radiation immediately falls into the waternearby. For this reason, the ocean around the sites inthe Marshall Islands where U. S. tests were conducted hasprovided a unique opportunity to study the effect of largeconcentrations of radionuclides. Particularly significantstudies have been conducted of the absorption of radionu-clides by plants and animals living on nearby reefs andIslands, and of both lateral and vertical diffusion rates ofelements in the open ocean.

The 1954 nuclear test at Eniwetok Atoll produced heavier -than-expected local radioactive fallout. Since then, both

t or more &Oils of these studies. see Atoms. Nalarr. arid Me*.a companion booklet in this series.

23

Auloradiograph of a planklon sam -Pie collected from a Pacific la-goon a meek after a 1952 nucleartest, shoring concentration of ra-dioisotopes erright areas).

American and Japanese scientists have studied water-massmovement rates, using the fallout radionuclides strontium-90 and cesium-137 themselves as tracer elements. Thesenuclides produced in the test have been detected at depthsdown to 7000 meters in the far northwestern Pacific inthe vicinity of Japan.

If this results from simple eddy diffusion, as somescientists believe, it is a case of diffusion at a very highrate. Other scientists suggest that other factors may havecontributed to the vertical transport of the radionuclidesto these depths. Still others believe that the strontium-90and cesium-197 might not have originated with the U. S.Pacific tests at all, but rather with Russian tests in theArctic taking place at about the same time. They proposethe theory that a syphoning effect in the Bering Straitcauses a current to flow out of the Arctif... Ocean and downunder the surface waters of the western Pacific. In supportof this, Japanese researchers cite a dissolved oxygen con-tent where these measurements were made that is differentfrom that of other deep water in the area. If this theoryshould be proved correct, it would be the first indicationthat such a current exists.

Similar investigations have been conducted of the varia-tions in depth of strontium-90 concentration in the AtlanticOcean. In February 1982, when fallout from 1981 nucleartests was high, tests south of Greenland showed that mixingof fallout was fairly rapid through the top lid0 me i ofwater. Al greater depths a colder, saltier layer of water

24

contained only about half as much strontium-90, confirm-ing other evidence that interchange between water massesof different physical and chemical properties is com-paratively low.

Work such as this has emphasised the difficulty inmaking meaningfUl measurements of man-made radiationin the ocean. One problem is to separate the artificiallyproduced radiation from the natural radiation, namely thatfrom potassium-40 (which accounts for 97% of oceanicradiation) and from the radionuclides, such as tritium,carbon-14, beryllium -7, beryllium-10, aluminum-28, andsilicon-32, created in the stratosphere naturally bycosmic-ray bombardment.

In 1933 scientific team aboard the ti. S. Coast Gnarl resiftRoger II. Tuley condacted a surrey of ()team fallout in Ike nysternPacific. They collected marke organisms (sad water samples atvarious depths on their 17,300-mile, 7-rreek itnovel-

Another problem is the sheer physical sire of the watersample required to get any measurements at all. Up to nowthere has been no truly effective radiation counter that canbe lowered over the side of a ship to the desired depth. it is

23

often necessary to collect a sample of many galions atgreat depths and return It to the surface without Es beingmixed by any of the intervening water. This is difficult atbest, and only rather primitive methods have been devel-oped. None is more than partly satisfactory. A standardsystem is to lower a large, collapsed polyethylene bag tothe desired depth, open it, fill it, and close it again, all byremote control, and then gingerly and hopefully return itto the surface. Results do not always agree among samplestaken at the same location by different methods or by dif-ferent scientists. There is still no universal agreementamong scientists as to the quantitative validity of any ofthe measurements, although as more and better data aregathered there tends to be a greater concurrence.

1 dr

Filly-gallon sampler ready lobe ton (redover the side of the research vesselAtlantis 11 In the North Atlantic. &Arch

defiers are rased to obtain samples atfired intervals from the sea snrface tothe bottom. The tinter is evolved forradioisotope content.

Recently, under an AEC contract, a detector for directmeasurements of gamma radiation in the deep ocean wasdeveloped for the Institute of Marine Sciences, University

'Gamma rays are high - energy electromagnetic radiation. similarto X tog. originating in the nuclei of radioactive atoms.

26

Scintillatiow cannier for rise in Mc dccp ocean, skortifig CaaStilaratParis (rig?' 0. The plastic discs arc The radiation detectors.

of Miami, by the Franklin GNO Corp. (See figure above.)This unit incorporates two of the largest plastic scintilla-tion counters ever used in the ocean each isle inches indiameter by 12 inches thick. This apparatus may permitdirect qualitative and quantitative measurement of radiationat great depths by techniques that will be eminently moresatisfactory than water sampling. Already tests with thedetector have disclosed the existence of cosmic-ray effectsat much greater depths than heretofore known.

'Instruments that detect and measure radiation by recordingthe number of tight flashes or scintillations produced by the ra-diation in plastic or other sensitive materials.

27

Biologists from Woods Hole Oceanographic InstthitionIn Massachusetts for the first time have been able.tomeasure the rate of excretion of physiologically importantfallout radionuclides by several species of zooplanktonpteropods, pyrasomas, copepods, and cuphausids. Radioac-tive zinc and iodine, It was learned, are excreted as solubleions, while iron and manganese appear as solid particles.However, the extent to which the intake and excretion ofradionuclides and the vertical migration of zooplankton con-tribute quantitatively to the transport of radioactivity acrossthe thermocline (and into the ocean deeps) still can only beguessed.

ZooplanktoN. mostly copepods. col-lected with a prto matte under/tatersampliv eqpripmext on board Me if 1-afar submarine Seadragon Aarcrxising tinder the Arctic ice.

Other plankton research at Woods Hole uses radioactivecarbon-14 and phosphorus-32 as tracers to evaluate ratesof growth and nutrient assimilation by algae (floating greenplants). These investigations have revealed that the presenceor absence of minute quantities of nutrient minerals Inseawater affects the rate at which the algae produceoxygen by the piocess of photosynthesis. Since the energyof all living things including manis also made avail-able by photosynthesis, and since most of the photosynthesison earth is performed by algae afloat in the oceans, it is

28

apparent that this research is of more than academicinterest. Algae, the original energy-fixers of the "meadowsof the sea", are also the original food source for thebillions of aquatic animals, and may some day prove asource of food for a mushrooming human population.

in a project with more immediate application, extensivebiological and environmental studio of the Eniwetok Atollarea in the Pacific were conducted prior to the first nu-clear testing there in 1998, and these studies have con-tinued ever since. Early in the test series the Japanese,who were at first concerned with the possible contamina-tion of their traditional marine food supplies, were invited

This shell of the giant clam Tridacnagigaa shorts the POS11104 of a layer ofstrontimon-90 absorbed in 1938 (blackIMO and 14 1936 Wale line). The M-side of the 0010441 layers) was de-posited in 1%4 tares the clam nctscollected at Bikini Atoll by scientistsfrom the Unirersity of Washington.Seattle.

to participate in these studies. Fisheries radiologicalmonitoring installations were established in Japan and theU. S. (The lattier was established by the AEC and adminis-tered by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration.) Neitherstation encountered any radiological contamination of tunaor other food fish, and the American unit has now beenclosed.

Groups that have cooperated with the AEC in marineradiobiological research are the University of Hawaii,University of Connecticut, Virginia Fisheries laboratory,

29

University of Washington, U. S. Office of Naval Research,and U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries.

At the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries RadiobiologicalLaboratory in Beaufort, North Carolina, a cooperative ef-fort of the AEC and the BCF is concerned with learning theeffects of radioactive wastes on one of America's mostvaluable marine resources the tidal marshlands andestuaries that are essential to the continued well-beingaf some of our important commercial fisheries.

Table III RADIOISOTOPES THAT MIGHT BE FOUND IN ANESTUARINE ENVIRONMENT

Isotope Half-life

Iodine -131Barium -140 Lanthanum-140Cesium-141Ruthenium- 103 Rhodium- 103Zirconium -95 Niobium -95Zinc-65Cerium-144Manganese-51Ruthenium-I06Rhodium-106Cesium-137Potassium-40

S.05 days12.8 days-40 hours32.5 days10 days-57 minutes65 days-35 days215 days285 days314 days1 year-30 seconds30 years1.3 x 10e years

(Reprinted from Radiobiological Laburalory Annual Re-pori , April,l, 1964, page 50.)

The project has determined that radionuclides are re-moved from waters in an estuarine environment by severalphysical, chemical, and biological means. For example,radionuclides are absorbed in river-bed sediments at arate varying directly with sediment particle size. Mollusks,such as clams, marsh mussels, oysters, and scallops, notonly assimilate radionuclides selectively, but do so insufficient quantity and with sufficient reliability to be usefulas indicators of the quantity of the isotopes present. Clamsand mussels are indicators for cerium-144 and ruthenium-106, scallops for manganese-54, and oysters for zinc-65(most of which winds up in the oyster's edible portions). Itwas learned that scallops assimilate more radioactivitythan any other mollusk. Of the total radioactivity, man;a-rf se-54 accounts for 60q: The scallop's kidney contains

30

No.

......116da.

On the left are mussels collected near the Columbia River in anenvironmeht containing abnormal amounts of zinc-65. On the rightare mussels suspended in seawater in research to determine howJust they lose their zinc-65 radioactivity. (Photograph taken at 1011'

100 times as much manganese-54 as any of the othertissu as and 300 times as much as the muscle, the onlypart of the scallop usually eaten in this country.

In a surprising unintended result, it was determined thatone .cre of oyster beds, comprising 300,000 individualoysters, may filter out the radionuclides from approximately10,000 cubic meters (18 cubic miles) of water per week!

The Radiological Laboratory scientists also have foundthat plankton are high concentrators of both chromium-51and zinc-65, and that zinc apparently is an essentialnutrient for all marine organisms. Some plants and ani-mals appear to reach a peak of radionuclide accumulationquickly, which then tapers off even though the radiationconcentration in the water is unchanged.

While the AEC's oceanographic research budgets have notbeen large, they have contributed materially to knowledgeof the oceanic envii.onment. AEC-sponsored research atScripps Institution of Oceanography has determined by aprocess known as neutron activation analysis* that theconcentration of rare earth elements in Pacific Ocean

'A method involving use of nuclear reactors or acceleratorsfor identifying extremely small amounts of material. See Neu-tron Activation Analysis, a companion booklet in this series.

31

waters appears to be onll, about one hundredth of the levelpreviously reported. By analysis of naturally occurringradioisotopes, they have also discovered that it takesfrom one million to 100 million years for lithium, potas-sium, barium, strontium, and similar elements introducedinto the ocean from rivers to be deposited in the bottomsediments. Aluminum, iron, and titanium are depositedin from 100 to 1000 years. They have also found thatsedimentation occurs in the South Pacific at a rate offrom 0.3 to 0.6 millimeter per thousand years, in theNorth Pacific at a rate several times that figure, and inthe basins on either side of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at arate of several millimeters per thousand years.

The University of Miami has successfully developed twomethods for determining the ages of successive layers ofdeep ocean sediments based on the relative abundancesof natural radioelements, and thereby has established achronology of climatic changes during the last 200,000years during which the sediments were laid down.

The U. S. is not alone in its use of nuclear energy as atool of science. The United Kingdom has carried outradiological studies of the marine environment for manyyears, particularly concentrating on the effects of radionu-clides from nuclear power plants on the sea immediatelycontiguous to the British Isles. Both the European AtomicEnergy Community and the International Atomic EnergyAgency also encouraged marine radiological studies. Manylaboratories and government agencies in Europe, North anzlSouth America, Africa, and the Middle East and Far Easthave well-established and productive programs under way.

Scientists in many parts of the world have used bothnatural and intentionally injected radiation to study thecoastwise movement of beach materials. British experi-menters, for example, activate sand with scandium-46 andare thus able to follow its movement for up to four months.Pebbles (shingle) coated with barium-140 and lanthanun-140are also used as tracers and are good for 6 weeks. Scien-tists at the University of California trace naturally oc-curring radioisotopes of thorium, which may be introducedfrom deposits of thorium sands along river banks. Thesestudies are of immediate practical importance, for each

32

year the ocean moves billions of cubic yards of sand,gravel, shinsle, and rock to and from beaches and alongshores. This action destroys recreational beaches, fillschannels, blocks off harbors, and in general rearrangesthe terrain, often at considerable cost and inconvenienceto mariners and other people who use the coast.

In another use of radioisotopes in marine research,studies at the AEC's Oak Ridge National Laboratory inTennessee have revealed radioactivity in the scales offish taken from waters affected by the laboratory's radio-active waste effluent. It was suggested that this phenomenonmight be put to use as a tagging technique in fish-migrationstudies, and scientists are now working on a method usingcesium-134 introduced into the fishes' natural diet.

Some of the most extensive studies of a marine environ-ment ever conducted are those by the AEC, the Bureau ofCommercial Fisheries, and the University of Washingtonin the Columbia River system and the nearby Pacific Ocean.

Isaacs-Kidd midwater trawl col-lects samples of oceanic ani-mals off the Oregon Coast. Theseanimals are then radioanalyzedto compare the quantity of ra-dioiso!opes associated with ani-mals from various depths. Therecorder at the trawl mouthindicates the volume of waterfiltered.

Operations at the AEC's giant Hanford facilities some 300miles upstream from the ocean result in the release ofsmall amounts of radioactivity to the river and also inraising the river-water temperature. This downstreamresearch is to determine any effects of these changes,

33

including any that might be detrimental to man. The re-search encompasses studies of the variations and distribu-tions of the freshwater "plume" the outflow from therivermouthextending into the nearby Pacific, sedimentanalyses, studies of the population dynamics of phytoplanktou,and the transport of radionuclides through the food chain.

As so often happens with basic programs, this researchhas produced immediate benefits. New resources of mar-ketable oceanic fish were discovered by the scientists atdepths never before fished commercially (from the edge ofthe continental shelf to depths of 500 fathoms and greater).Similarly, commercial quantities of one species of crabhave been discovered in the deeper ocean. Other findingsindicate that crab populations may have seasonal up-and-down migrations that vary according to sex. It appears, in

This core sampler is used to oblainstream bed samples up to 5 feel longin the Columbia River. The samplesare Men analyzed for radioisoloPecon-ienl.

fact, that, except while mating and as juveniles, the maleand female crab populations lead separate lives. Thisinformation is important both for more efficient fisheriesand for improved conservation of the crab as a foodresource.

34

The AEC is, in short, concerned with virtually everyfacet of basic oceanography, and with study of the sea as awhole, for radionuclides, like their nonradioactive counter-parts, can and do become involved in every phase of thevast and complex ocean ecology. In the process of pursuingits research interests, it also provides oceanographerswith a whole new family of tools for study. Let us now seehow atomic instruments contribute to the growing knowl-edge of the sea.

Oceanographic Instruments

The ocean is both a complex and a harsh environment andits study has always demanded that designers of seaworthyinstruments and sampling devices be both ingenious andexperienced in shipboard requirements. Until recently,

This radioisotope poweredswimsuit heater uses plu-tonium-238 to produce 920watts of heat. haler, heatedby the decay of 238Pu, ispumped through plasticveins partially visible inthe undergarment. The cyl-inder under the diver'sarm contains 4 .7apsules of238Pu, and a battery-pumpassembly is contained inthe box at his feel. Afterpreliminary tests at theNaval Medical ResearchInstitute in Bethesda,Maryland, the unit will beused in Sealab III, the Na-vy's underwater researchlaboratory. The healer wasdeveloped by the AEC Di-vision of Isotopes Develop-ment.

35

these devices tended to be rugged and simple, if not indeedcrude. More refined, electronic instrumentation has begunto appear in recent years, but most designs still fail topass the test of use at sea. Even among those that do pass,there is persistent difficulty in separating desired informa-tion-carrying signals from background and system-induced"noise". This has been a specific problem with currentmeters designed to be moored in the open ocean and alsowith one quite sophisticated gamma-ray detector.

To meet the clear need for improved devices, as well asto support its own research and increase utilization ofnuclear materials and techniques, the AEC Division ofIsotopea Development encourages the development of ocean-ographic instrumentation. This comparatively young tech-nology already has produced exciting results. The futuremay be even more revealing as nuclear energy is appliedmore and more to the study, exploration, and exploitationof the ocean.

Instruments that have been developer'. under the AECprogram include a current meter, a dissolved-oxygen-content analyzer, and a sediment-density meter. A new,fast method for determining the mineral content of geologi-cal samples also has been perfected,

The DEEP WATER ISOTOPIC CURRENT ANALYZER (DWICA)was developed under a contract with William H. JohnsonLaboratories, Inc. It relies on radioisotope drift time overa fixed course to measure seawater flow rates rangingfrom 0.002 to 10.0 knots. The device embodies 12 radiationsensors spaced equally in a circle around a radioisotope -injection nozzle. Current direction can be determined towithin 15 degrees. The mass of tracer isotope injected isvery smallless than 10 picograms* per injectionandthe instrument can store enough tracer material to op-erate for a year. The tracer can be injected automaticallyat intervals from 2 to 20 minutes, dependingon the current.The device sits on the sea floor, where its orientation tomagnetic north can be determined within 2.5 degrees.

picogram is one trillionth (10-12) of a gram.

36

Isotope reservoir andequipressura system

Electric logiccircuitry

Pressureprotective case

Sensorring

Flowbaffleplate

Isotopeinjection point

The Deep Water Isotopic Current Analyzer.

37

A SEDIMENT DENSITY PROBE, developed under an AECcontract by Lane-Wells Company, employs gamma-rayabsorption and backscatter properties* to determine thedensity of the sediments at the bottom of lakes, rivers, orthe ocean, without the necessity of returning a sedimentsample to the surface. it is expected that it can be modifiedto sense the water content of the sediments. These deter-

.' rninations are valuable not only for research, but also for'activity that requires structures on the ocean floor, suchas petroleum exploration and naval operations.

The Sediment Density Probe. Thedrawing shows the complete probe.

The unit consists of a rocket-like tube 26 feet long andabout 4 inches in diameter, containing a gamma-ray-emitting cesium-137 source, a lead shield, and a radiationdetector. The device is lowe-Po o- side of a .chip and

*For an explanAtiRadioisotopt's in lo;,'

38

work, see. villa aeries.

allowed to penetrate the sediment. Once in place, the gammaray source, shield, and detector move together up and down,inside the probe, for a distance of 11 feet, stopping every 24inches for 4 minutes to take a measurement. Gamma raysare absorbed in any material through which they pass, ac-cording to its density. A low radiation count at the detectorindicates a high-density sediment: More radiation is ab-sorbed and less is reflected back to the detector. Con-versely, a high count indicates low density. Data arerecorded on special cold-resistant film. A number of dif-ferent sediment measurements can be made in several loca-tions before the unit must be returned to the surface.

OXYGEN ANALYZER The amount of dissolved oxygen inany part of the ocean is a basic quantity that must bedetermined before some kinds of research can be under-taken. For example, oxygen concentration is important indetermining the life-support capability of seawater and in

Oxygen analyzer equipment includes the deep-sea probe (largedevice, center, including a special Geiger counter, the electronicassembly, a pump, and power supplies), cable for transmission ofGeiger counter signals (back), and portable scaler (left). The latteris also shown aboard a research vessel (inset) during tests madeat sea.

39

measuring deep-water mixing. In the past this measurementhas had to be determined by laborious chemical methodsthat may subject the water sample to contamination byexposure to atmospheric oxygen. Under an AEC contract,the Research Triangle Institute has developed a dissolvedoxygen analyzer that relies on the quantitative oxidationby dissolved oxygen of thallium metal containing a knownratio of radioactive thallium-204.

The seawater sample passes through a column linedwith thallium. The thallium is oxydized and goes intosolution. It then passes between two facing pancake-shapedradiation counters that record the level of beta radiationfrom the thallium-204. Since the rate of oxidation, andtherefore the rate of release of the thallium to solution, isproportional to the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water,it is simple to calibrate the device to show oxygen content.The system is sensitive enough to detect one part of oxygenin 10 billion of water. And, the device can be towed andtake readings at depths of up to one mile, an added ad-vantage that obviates the chances of surface-air contami-nation.

NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS Nuclear energy is con-tributing to the more accurate and more rapid analysis ofminerals in the sea in at least two different ways. The firstemploys neutron activation analysis, which we have alreadymentioned. This method is valuable not only in analyzingsediments cored from the ocean floor, but also in thedetection and quantitative analysis of trace elements in thewater. Knowledge of the role of all natural constituents inthe ocean is essential to an understanding of the complexinterrelationships of the ocean environment, as we haveseen. Identification of trace elements also is a necessarypreliminary to determining the effects of purposely in-troduced radionuclides. Collection of the minute quanti-ties of trace elements is very difficult at best. Once theyhave been collected and concentrated, neutron activationanalysis provides a means for their identification andmeasurement.

X-RAY FLUORESCENCE is another technique, used to iden-tify the mineral content of ore or sediment. This system

40

was developed (for the purpose of spotting gold beingsmuggled through Customs) by Tracer lab Division ofLaboratory for Electronics, Inc. (LFE), under an AECcontract. Similar equipment was developed simultaneouslyin England for use by prospectors, geologists and miningengineers. It now may be used at sea in analyzing samplesfrom the sea floor. As is often the case with isotope-baseddevices, its operation is really quite simple. When excitedby radiation from an isotope (or any other radiationsource), each element produces its own unique pattern ofX-ray fluorescence, that is, it radiates characteristicX rays. By varying filters and measuring the count rate,oceanographers can detect and measure materials, suchas tin, copper, lead, and zinc. The British unit is com-pletely transistorized, battery powered, aid weighs only16.5 pounds.

RHODAMINEB DYE The AEC also has improved ocean-ographic research in ways that do not involve the use ofnuclear energy. Some years ago under the joint sponsor-ship of the AEC Division of Reactor Development and Tech-nology and the Division of Biology and Medicine, the Water-lift Division of Cleveland Pneumatic Tool Company developedinstrumentation and techniques for detecting the presence ofthe red dye, rhodamine-B, in concentrations as low as one-tenth part per billion. This method is now widely used bothfor groundwater studies and In the study of currents, diffu-sion, and pollution in rivers, lakes, and the ocean. In manycases, rhodamine-B is a batter tracer in water thanradioisotopes, due to the greater ease with which it isdetected.

Environmental Safety Studies

The AEC Division of Reactor Development and Tech-nology has supported extensive environmental studies toassess the safety of isotopic power sources (to be dis-cussed later) in oceanic environments. One of the mostimportant of these is being conducted by the Naval Radiolog-ical Defense Laboratory at an ocean environmental testingcomplcx near San Clemente Island off the coast of Cali -forni't, which includes a shore installation and a floating

41

ocean platform. These studies are to determine seawatercorrosion of containment alloys and fuel solubility inseawater; the dispersion of the fuel in the ocean; the effectof the radioactive material on marine life; and the radiationhazard to man, when all significant exposure pathways areconsidered.

In another study the Chesapeake Bay Institute of JohnsHopkins University investigated potential hazards thatmight result if radioactive materials were released off theAtlantic Coast. Five areas along the Continental Shelf wareexamined in detail for environmental factors such asvertical diffusion. The same Institute made environmentaland physical dispersion studies off Cape Kennedy, Florida,to predict the fate of any radioactive materials that mightbe released in aborted launchings of nuclear rockets or nu-clear auxiliary power devices for space uses. Fluorescentdye was released into offshore, surf zone, and inshore lo-cations; the diffusion was observed, sampled, and comparedwith existing diffusion theory. Mathematical models havebeen developed that can now be used to predict the rate andextent of diffusion in the Cape Kennedy area in the event ofany radioactivity release from aborted test flights.

Similar studies have been carried out near the spacelaunching site at Point Arguello, California, by the ScrippsInstitution of Oceanography. These included collection ofdata on dispersion, marine sediments, and the biologicaluptake of radioactive plutonium, polonium, cesium, andstrontium.

The Atom at Work In the SeeNUCLEAR REACTOR PROPULSION

The transformation in undersea warfare tactics andnational defense strategy effected! by the introduction ofnuclear-powered submarines is now well known. Navysubmarines employing the latest reactors and fuel elementscan stay at sea for more than 3 years without refueling.Polaril submarines on patrol remain submerged for 60 to70 days. The nuclear submarine Triton. tracing Magellan'sroute of 400 years earlier, traveled 36,000 miles underwater, moving around the world in 83 days and 10 hours.

42

r

USS Seadragon and Skate sit nose to nose on lop of Ike icorld afterruder -lcr royages from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to theNorth Pole. to the inscl a frogman from the Seadragon swimswider the Arctic ice 01 one of the first photographs male beneaththe North Pole.

Under-ice transits of the Arctic Ocean by nuclear sub-marines are now commonplace. These feats all are pos-sible because of the nuclear reactors and propulsionsystems developed by the AEC Division of Naval Reactors,which also developed the propulsion plants for the Navy'snuclear surface vessels.

DEEP SUBMERGENCE RESEARCH VEHICLE On April 18,1965, President Johnson announced that the Atomic EnergyCommission and Department of the Navy were undertakingdevelopment of a nuclear-powered deep submergence re-search and engineering vehicle. This manned vehicle,designated the NR-I. will have vastly greater endurancethan any other yet developed or planned, because of its

For a discussion of proposed nuclear merchant submarines,see Neckar Power and Me rckant upping, another booklet in thisseries.

43

nuclear power. Its development will provide the basis forfuture nuclear-powered oceanographic research vehiclesof even greater versatility and depth capability.

The NR-1 will be able to move at maximum speed forperiods of time limited only by the amount of food andsupplies it carries. With a crew of five and two scientists,the vehicle will be able to make detailed studies of theocean bottom, temperature, currents, and other phenomenafor military, commercial, and scientific uses. The nuclearpropulsion plant will give it great independence from surfacesupport ships and essentially unlimited endurance for ex-ploration.

The submarine will have viewing ports for visual observa-tion of its surroundings and of the ocean bottom. A remotegrapple will permit collection of marine samples and otherobjects. The NR-1 is expected to be capable of exploringareas of the Continental Shelf, which appears to containthe most accessible wealth in mineral and food resourcesin the seas. Exploratory charting of this kind may helpthe United States in establishing sovereignty over partsof the Continental Shelf; a ship with its depth capabilitycan explore an ocean-bottom area several times largerthan the United States.

The reactor plant for the vehicle is being designedby the General Electric Company's Knolls Atomic PowerLaboratory. Schenectady, New York. The remainder ofthe propulsion plant is being designed by the ElectricBoat Division, General Dynamics Corporation, Groton,Connecticut.

Scientists are already beginning to implant small seafloor laboratories. In the future, when large permanentundersea installations for scientific investigation, mining,or fish farming become a reality, nuclear reactors like theone designed for research submersibles or the one alreadyin use in Antarctica and other remote Imitions' will serveas their power plants.

These are described In itmrr Redrctoos fs Small Packages.ilOthe r booklet in this series.

44

ISOTOPIC POWER SOURCES

Fhe ocean is a logistically remote environment, in thesense that conventional combustible fuels can't be usedunderwater unless supplied with their own sources ofoxygen. It is usually extremely costly to take anythingheavy or bulky into the deep ocean. Even if the two essen-tial components of combustion fuel and oxygen couldbe delivered economically to an undersea base or craft,the extreme back pressure of the depths would presentserious exhaust problems. Yet deep beneath the sea is justwhere we now propose to do large amounts of work requir-ing huge supplies of rollahlt, energy. The lack of reliableand extended duration power sources is perhaps one of themost critical requirements for expansion of underwaterand marine technology. For example. the pressing need formeasurements of atmospheric and oceanic data to supportscientific, commercial, and military operations will in thefuture require literally hundreds of oceanographic andmeteorological buoys deployed throughout the world to takesimultaneous measurements and time-series observationsat specific sites.

Some of these buoys will support and monitor up to 100sensors each. These devices record a variety of physical,chemical, and radiological phenomena above, at. or belowthe surface. Periodically the sensor data will be convertedto digital form and stored on magnetic tape for laterretrieval by distant shore-based or shipboard radio com-mand, by satellite command (for retransmittal to groundstations), or by physical recovery of the tapes. Individually.each buoy will not require a great deal of energy to operate,but will have to operate reliably over long periods of time.Conventional power sources are being used for theprototypebuoys now under development and testing, but these robotocean platforms In the future will make excellent use ofnuclear energy supplied by isotopic power sources.

The SNAP-7D isotope power generator has been operat-ing unattended since January 1964 on a deep-ocean mooredbuoy in the Gulf of Mexico. This U. S. Navy NOMAD (NavyOceanographic and Meteorological Automatic Device) buoyis powered by a 60-watt. strontium-90 radioisotope source.

4S

46

RADIO ANTENNA

WEATHERSENSORS

WARNINGBEACON

-9,

-C'

0.6

NUCLEAR°MINATO*

which was developed by the AEC Divisic.. of Reactor De-velopment and Technology. This weather station transmitsdata for 2 minutes and 20 seconds every 3 hours. This dataincludes air temperature, barometric pressure, and windvelocity and direction. Storm detectors trigger specialhourly transmissions during severe weather conditions.The generator operates untinuously and charges storagebatteries between transmissions. Some power is used tolight a navigation beacon to alert passing ships.

Energy from the heat of radioisotope decay has beenused on a "proof-of-principle" basis in several otherinstances involving ocean or marine technology.

An experimental Sr Isutupe-puweied acoustic naviga-tion beacon (SNAP-7E) now rests on the sea floor in 15,000feet of water near Bermuda. Devices such as these not onlywill enable nearby surface research or salvage vessels tolocate their positions precisely (something very difficult todo at sea) and to return to the same spot, but the beaconsalso will aid submarine navigation (see page 48).

A U. S. Coast Guard lighthouse located in ChesapeakeBay has been powered by a 60-watt, "Sr power source,SNAP-7B, for 2 years without maintenance or service.This unit was subsequently relocated for use in anotherapplication (described below).

The first commercial use of one of these "atomic bat-teries" began In 1965 when the SNAP-713 60-watt generator

On the left is the world's firstswarer-powered ~rather buoy lo-cated in the center of the Gulf ofAferieo. This weather stalion. partof Me U. S. Navy's ,VO.VAD system,is o a barge 10 feet x 20 feet, aidis anchored in 12,000 feet of water.On the right. engineers prepare toInstall the SNAP-711 generator.

4?

buoyancy tank

\( ( (( ((«( I/»»)) )) ) 4.....4

Sound amplifier

bucleaupovietedsound source.

Ocean bottom

Total height. 10 It 2 in.

Pressure vets.'

Capacity bank

Fuel capsules,

biological shield

4$

Armoredcable

Kf1 tif5Ill

%_ thermoelectric generator

Irt

The S.VAP-7E Isotopic genera-tor powers an undersea acousticbeacon, which produces an acous-tic pulse once (wry 60 seconds.In addition to being a nai igationaid, the beacon is itsrd to studythe effects of a deepocean en-t ironincnt on the transmission ofsound (NTT tong distances.

tatnpment package

Voltage ccolvttlet

Depleted uranium

System supportsttictate

1

Details of the Phillips Petroleumplatform, nhich uses the 5.1'AP-

ncicar generator. Beton thefinal electrical connection is madefrom the nuclear generator to theplatform's electronic forhorn andtuo flashing light beacons.

4

$40

....-0,...............

Sftaik 78 ',Wearsentiolor

49

went into operation on an unmanned Phillips PetroleumCompany offshore oil platform. 40 miles southeast ofCameron. Louisiana. The generator operates flashing navi-gational lights and. in bad weather, an electronic foghorn(see page 49). This unit will be tested for 2 years to de-termine the economic feasibility of routinely using isotopicpower devices on a commercial basis.

The radioisotope-powered devices previously describedwere developed by the AEC under the SNAP-7 Program.*The testing of these units has demonstrated the advisabilityof developing reliable and unattended nuclearpower sourcesfor use in remote ervironments without compromise tonuclear safety standards. As a result of the success ofthese tests, a variety of potential oceanographic applica-tions have been identified. A study, conducted by Aerojet-General Corporation in conjunction with Global MarineExploration Company and Northwest Consultant Ocean-ographers, Inc.. described ocean applications includingunderwater navigational aids, acoustic beacons, channelmarkers, cable boosters, weather buoys. offshore oil wellcontrols along with innumerable oceanographic researchapplications. This study was sponsored by the AEC Divi-sion of Isotopes Development.

In order to satisfy the requirements for these and otherapplications, the AEC has begun developing a series ofcompact and highly reliable isotope power devices that aredesigned to be economically competitive with alternativepower sources. Currently underway are two specific proj-ects. SNAP-2I and SNAP-23.

SNAP-21 is a two-phase project to develop a series ofcompact strontium-90 power systems for deep-sea andocean-bottom uses (20.000-foot depths). The first phase ofdesign and component development on a basic 10-wattsystem already has been completed, and a second phasedevelopment and test effort now under way will extendthrough 1970. A series of power sources in the 10- and20-watt range will be available for general purpose deep-ocean application.

`See Po:ger from Redioisoloks, a companion tooklel in thisseries. for a more complete discussion of radioisotopes In use.

50

The SNAP-23 project involves the development of aseries of economically attractive strontium-90 power sys-tems for remote terrestrial uses. This project will resultin 25-watt, 60-watt, and 100-watt units capable of long-term operation in surface buoys, offshore oil platforms,weather stations, and microwave repeater stations.

In addition to the above, effort is underway by the AEC todevelop an isotope-fueled heater that will be used byaquanauts in the Navy's Sea lab Program (see page 12).Future activities, now being planned, will involve the de-velopment of large isotope power sources (1-10 electrickilowatts) and small nuclear reactors (50-100 kilowatts)for use in manned and unmanned deep-ocean platforms.

Ocean Engineering

Considerable engineering experience has been derivedfrom the work of federal agencies in development of thelargest taut-moored instrumented buoy system ever de-ployed in the deep ocean. Developed by Ocean Science &Engineering, Inc., it is useful in observation and predic-tion of environmental changes.

The system embodies substantial advances in design.It incorporates, among other features, an acousticallycommanded underwater winch for adjustment of the moor-ing depth after the buoy is deployed, and for recoveringa 16,000-pound submerged data-recording instrument can-nister. This buoy system can survive being moored inup to 18,000-foot depths of the open ocean for upward of30 days.

The very first deep-ocean, taut-moored buoy system wasdevelope 1 for the government in 1954, and has since becomean important to)I for oceanographers and others who seekstable instrument platforms at sea. The buoys have theadvantage of minimizing horizontal movement due o cur-rents, winds, and waves.

The National Marine Consultants Division of InterstateElectronics Corporation has developed for the govt rnmenta system for measuring the propagation of seismic seawaves (tsunamis).

Si

Work of these sorts contributes materially to reliableocean engineering. And the measurements made by thesesophisticated instruments contribute to our knowledge ofocean fluid dynamics and wave mechanics.

Corrosion is a huge, ever-present problem plaguingoceanographic engineers, ship designers, mariners, op-erators of desalination plants, petroleum companies withoffshore facilities, and, in fact, everyone who placesstructures in salt water to do useful work. While the basicmechanisms of corrosion are known, there are many de-tailed aspects that are not: For example, the precise roleof bacteriological slimes in causing corrosion on sup-posedly protected structures. Radioisotope tracers now arehelping engineers follow the chemical, physical, and biologi-cal actions in corrosion processes.

Fresh Water from SeawaterIn 1960 the chairman of the board of a large U. S. cor-

poration made a fundamental policy decision for his com-pany: Since the greatest critical need of man in the nextdecade would be fresh water, his company would beginworking to produce large volumes of fresh water includ-ing the development of methods for desalting seawater.His pioneering analysis proved to be prophetic.

Throughout the world, more people are using morewater for more purposes than ever before. Many areas ofthe world. including some that are densely populated,have been parched since the dawn of history. In otherswhere water was once abundant, not only are naturalsources being depleted faster than they are replaced, butmany rivers and lakes have been so polluted that they cannow scarcely be used.

The world's greatest resource of water is the ocean,but energy is required to remove the salt from it and makeit potable or even useful for agriculture and industry. Theenergy produced by nuclear reactors is considered eco-nomical in the large quantities that soon will be required.

The AEC and the Office of Saline Water of the Depart-ment of the Interior, after a preliminary study, haveJoined with the Metropolitan Water District of SouthernCalifornia and the electric utility firms serving the area,

S2

r24116:--- -winsirarywaisamar bar -0:-

Plans to construct a nuclear desalting plant in California wereannounced In August 1966 by from left) AEC CommissionerJames T. Ramey, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall,Mayor Samuel Yorty of Los Angeles, and -Joseph Jensen, BoardChairman of the Metropolitaillater District of Southern California.

to begin construction of a very large nuclear-power de-salting plant on a man-made island off the California coast.The plant, when completed in the 1970s, will have an initialwater capacity of 50 million gallons per day and also willgenerate about 1,800,000 kilowatts of electricity. Additionaldesalting capacity is planned for addition later to achieve atotal water capacity of 150 million gallons per day.

Plans for other nuclear-powered desalting projects aroundthe world are being discussed by the United Mates govern-ment, the International Atomic Energy Agency and thegovernments of many other nations. Some of these alsomay be in operation during the early 1970s.*

These projects followed extended detailed studies, in-cluding one "milestone" investigation at the AEC's OakRidge National Laboratory in Tennessee, in which theeconomic feasibility of using very large nuclear reactors

`For an explanation of how these *ill function, see Nuclear En-ergy for Desalting. another booklet in this series.

Model of the nuclear potter desalting plant to be built OR Ike coastof Southern California.

...M11

41L.

0* -..''''

coupled to very large desalting equipment to produce powerand water was determined.

The significance of these studies was recognized byPresident Johnson in 1964, when he told the Third Interna-tional Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy:"The time is coming when a single desalting plant poweredby nuclear energy will produce hundreds of millions ofgallons of fresh waterand large amounts of electricityevery day."

It is obvious that today realization of that goal is muchnearer.

The installation of new and larger desalting plants willin itself require extensive additional oceanographic re-search. By the nature of their operation these plants willbe discharging considerable volumes of heated water witha salt content higher than that of the sea. Throughout theocean, but particularly in the estuaries, sea life is sensi-tive to the concentration of ocean salts and temperature.Studies of the effect of such discharges will be an essentialpart of any large-scale desalination program.

Radiation Preservation of SeafoodThe use of nuclear radiation for the preservation of food

is a new process of particular importance for seafood. Theocean constitutes the world's largest source of animalprotein food. Yet the harvests of the sea can be storedsafely, even with refrigeration, for far shorter periodsthan can most other foods. In many parts of the world,this tendency to spoil makes fish products available onlyto people who live near seacoasts.

Many types of seafood, however, when exposed to radia-tion from radioisotopes or small accelerators, can bestored under normal refrigeration for up to four weekswithout deterioration. The process does not alter the ap-pearance or taste of the seafood; it merely destroysbacteria that cause spoilage. This fact holds promise notonly for the world's protein-starved populations, but alsofor the economic well-being of commercial fishermen,whose markets would be much expanded.

In support of this program, the AEC has built and isoperating at Gloucester, Massachusetts, a prototype corn-

54

-,--.

#11=11imm- -.{.-.7-: --,--_---.-Vt:-zii 2..

,. , - ,... r^-^-,-.? tV1,14 `1+,,ii,c.,,,:i...S.:*_:' Z.;*,.,, , ^ ,,.. -The first shipboard irradiator (inset) was onThe Delaware, a research fishing vessel.Fish, preserved through irradiation soon afterthey are caught, have a refrigerated storagelife two or three times longer than nonirra-dialed fish.

mercial seafood irradiator plant capable of processing2000 pounds cf seafood an hour. The radiation is suppliedby a cobalt-80 source. Private industry is cooperatingwith the AEC in the evaluation of this facility.*

Project PlowshareNuclear explosives are, among other things, large-scale,

low-cost excavation devices. In this respect, with theproper pre-detonation study and engineering, they areideally suited for massive earth-moving and "geologicalengineering" projects, including the construction of harborsand canals. The western coasts of three continents, Austra-lia, Africa, and South America, are sparsely supplied withgood harbors. A number of studies have been undertaken

*See Food Preservation by Irradiation, another booklr in thisseries, for a full account of this installation.

55

as to the feasibility of using nuclear explosives for diggingdeepwater harbors. Undoubtedly at some time in the future,these projects will be carried out.

In addition, there are many places in the world wherethe construction of a sea-level canal would provide shorterand safer routes for ocean shipping, expedite trade andcommerce, or open up barren and unpopulated, but mineral-rich lands to settlers and profitable development. The AECDivision of Peaceful Nuclear Explosives operates a con-tinuing program to develop engineering skills for suchprojects.* Construction of a sea-level canal across theCentral American isthmus is one well-known proposalfor this "Plowshare" program.

The use of nuclear explosives in this manner may oneday change the very shape of the world ocean,

A New From

Just about 70 years ago, the oceanographer and explorer,Dr. Fridtjof Nansen completed his famous voyage aboard

the research vessel Fran?, whichremained locked in the Arctic icepack for 3 years, drifting aroundthe top of the world while the menaboard her studied the oceanog-raphy of the polar sea. Now theNational Science Foundation hastaken the first steps toward build-ing a modern version of Franz forArctic studies. This time the ves-sel will be an Arctic Drift Bargecontaining thebest equipment mod -ern technology can offerinclud-ing, it is proposed, a central nu-

Fridtjof Nansen clear power plant to guaranteeheat and power. Scheduled for completion sometime in the1970s, this project represents yet another use of the atomin the study of the ocean.

*Details are described in Plowshare, another booklet in thisseries.

56

THE THREEDIMENSIONAL OCEAN

The ocean is no longer an area of isolated scientificinterest, nor merely a turbulent two-dimensional surfaceover which man conducts his commerce and occasionallyfights his wars.

In today's world, the ocean has assumed its full thirddimension. Men and women are going down into it to study,to play, to work, and, alas, sometimes to fight. As theygo, they are taking atomic energy with them. In many in-stances, only the harnessed power in the nuclei of atomspermits them to penetrate the depths of the mighty sea and

there attain their objectives.

AgC

---14r

Artist's conception of one of three proposed designs for the Na-tional Science Foundation's Arctic Drift Barge. All three designsincorporate a nuclear power source.

57

SUGGESTED REFERENCES

BooksThe Bountiful Sea, Seabrook Hull, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood

Cliffs, New Jersey 07632, 1964, 340 pp., $6.95.This Great and Wide Sea, R. E. Coker, Harper & Row, New York

10016, 1962, 235 pp., $2.25 (paperback).Exploring the Secrets of the Sea, William J. Cromie, Prentice-Hall,

[no., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632, 1962, 300 pp., $5.95.The Sea Around Us, Rachel L. Carson, Oxford University Press,

Inc., New York 10016, 1961, 237 pp., $5.00 (hardback); $0.60(paperback) from the New American Library of World Litera-ture, Inc., New York 16022.

The Ocean Adventure, Gardner Soule, Appleton-Century, New York10017, 1966, 278 pp., $5,95.

Proving Ground: An Account of the Radiobiological Studies in thePacific, 1946-1961, Neal 0. Hines, University of WashingtonPress, Seattle, Washington 98105, 1962, 366 pp., $6.75.

The Effects of Atomic Radiation on Oceanography and Fisheries(Publication 551), National Academy of SciencesNational Re-search Council, Washington, D. C. 20418, 1957, 137 pp., $2,00.

Oceanography: A Study of Inner Space, Warren E. Yasso, HoltRinehart and Winston, Inc., New York, 10017, 1965, 176 pp.,$2.50 (hardback); $1.28 (paperback).

BookletsOceanography Information Sources (Publication 1417), National

Academy of SciencesNational Research Council, Washington,D. C. 20418, 1966, 38 pp., $1.50.

A Reader's Guide to Oceanography, Jan Hahn, Woods Hole Ocean-ographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, August1965 (revised periodically) 13 pp., free.

The following booklets are available from the Superintendent ofDocuments, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C.20402:

Undersea Vehicles for Oceanography (Pamphlet No. 18), Inter-agency Committee on Oceanography of the Federal Council forScience and Technology, 1965, 81 pp., $0.65.

Marine Science's Research, AEC Division of Biology and Medicine,March 1966, 18 pp., $0.15.

ArticlesTools for the Ocean Depths, Fortune, LXXII: 213 (August 1965).Journey to Inner Space, Time, 86: 90 (September 17, 1965).Working for Weeks on the Sea Floor, Jacques-Yves Cousteau,

National Geographic, 129: 498 (April 1966).Nucleonics, 24 (June 1966). This special issue on the use of the

atom undersea contains the following articles of interest:Reactors: Key to Large Scale Underwater Operations, J. R.

Wetch, 33.

58

Undersea Role for isotopic Power, K. E. Buck, 38.Radioisotopes in Oceanographic Research, R. A. Pedrick and

G. B. Magill, Jr., 42.

Motion Pictures1000 Feet Deep for Science, 27 minutes, color, 1965. Produced by

and available from Westinghouse Electric Corporation, VisualCommunications Department, 3 Gateway Center, Box 2278,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15230. This film describes the Westing-house Diving Saucer, which is a two-man laboratory used forunderwater research. This is the saucer that isused by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and was featured in his motion picture WorldWithout Sun.

Available for loan without charge from the AEC HeadquartersFilm Library, Division of Public Information, U. S. Atomic EnergyCommission, Washington, D. C. 20545 and from other AEC filmlibraries.

Bikini Radiological Laboratory, 22 minutes, sound, color, 1949.Produced by the University of Washington and the AEC. Thisfilm explains studies of effects of radioactivity from the 1946atomic tests at Bikini Atoll on plants and marine life in thearea 3 years later.

Return to Bikini, 50 minutes, sound, color, 1964. Produced by theLaboratory of Radiation Biology at the University of Washingtonfor the AEC. This film records the ecological resurvey ofBikini in 1964, 6 years after the last weapons test.

Desalting the Seas, 17 minutes, sound, color, 1967. Produced byAEC's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Describes various meth-ods of purifying saline water through the use of large dual-purpose nuclear-electric desalting plants.

.1111=11.

59

PHOTO CREDITS

Page2 U. S. Navy (USN)3 University of Pennsylvania MuseumNational Geographic

Expedition5 USN6 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (W110I)7 Diagram, WWI; photo, S. Hull9 Top, Oregon State University (0513); bottom, University of

California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SP)}

10 Lamont Geological Observatory of Columbia University12 USN15 SIO

19 R. H. Backus. Physics Today (November 1965), 'SoundReflections In and Under Oceans,',' J. B. Hersey

20 U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Labora-tory, Honolulu, Hawaii

22 USN24 Laboratory of Radiation Biology, University of Washington (LRB)26 Jan Hahn27 Franklin GNO Corporation28 George D. Grice, WHOI31 SlO33 OSU

l35 Monsanto Research Corporation37 USN38 Lane-Wells Company39 Research Triangle Institute43 USN

48, 47 & 48 Martin-Marietta Company49 The Photo Mart53 Top, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California;

bottom, Bechtel CorporationU. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Fish and Wildlife

Service; inset, Brookhaven National LaboratoryNorsk Folkemuseuns, Oslo, Norway, courtesy The Mariners

Museum, Newport News, Virginia ,

National Science FoundationS. Hull

Cover photo courtesy James Butler, USNAuthor's photo courtesy General Dynamich. Corporation

Frontispiece from Jan Hahn .-

60

THE COVER

The ship on the cover is the trimAtlantis riding the waves about 200 milessouth of Bermuda. The first craft builtby the United States as an oceanographicresearch vessel, she traveled more than1,200,000 miles across the seven seasfor a period of 30 years. She "ran"over 6000 hydrographic stations andwas used for innumerable dredging,coring, biological, physical, and acousti-cal research operations. After she wasretired from active service at the WoodsHole Oceanographic Institution in Mas-sachusetts, she was sold to Argentina,where she has resumed her role as anoceanographic research vessel.

THE AUTHOR

ne ATOM lai the OCEAN

v..< I 41.0 CPIVIMPI to*.

E. W. SEABROOK HULL is an experienced writer and editor intechnical and engineering fields. He is the author of The BountifulSea, published in 1964 by Prentice-Hall, and Plowshare, another'ooklet in this Understanding the Atom Series. He is the editor ofOcean Science News and editor and publisher of GeoMarine Tech-nology.

61

This booklet is one of the "Understanding the Atom"Series. Comments are invited on this br.oklet and othersin the series; please send them to the Division of TechnicalInformation, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, Washington,D. C. 20545.

Published as part of the AEC's educational assistanceprogram, the series includes these titles

AcceleratorsAnimals in Atomic ResearchAtomic FuelAtomic Poser SafelyAtoms at the Science FairAtoms in AgricultureMoms, Nature, and ManCareers in Atomic EnergyComputersControlled Nuclear FusionCryogenics, The Uncommon ColdDirect Conversion of EnergyFallout From Nuclear TestsFood Preservation by IrradiationGenetic Effects of RadiationIndex to the UAS SeriesLasersMicrostructure of MatterNeutron Activation AnalystsNondestructive TestingNuclear ClocksNuclear Energy for DesaltingNuclear Poser and Merchant ShippingNuclear Poser Plants

Nuclear Propulsion for SpaceNuclear ReactorsNuclear Terms, A Brief GlossaryOur Atomic WorldPlou sharePlutoniumPoser from RadioisotopesPower Reactors in Small PackagesRadioactive WastesRadioisotopes and Life ProcessesRadioisotopes in IndustryRadioisotopes in MedicineRare EarihsReading Resources in Atomic EnergyResearch ReactorsSNAP, Nuclear Space NeactorsSources of Nuclear FuelSpace RadiationSynthetic Transuranium ElementsThe Atom and the OceanThe Chemistry of the Noble GasesThe First ReactorWhole Body CountersYour Body and Radiation

A single copy of any one booklet, or of no more than threedifferent booklets, may be obtained free by writing to:

USAEC, P. 0. BOX 62, OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE 37830

Complete sets of the series are available to school andpublic librarians, and to teachers who can make themavailable for reference or for use by groups. Requestsshould be made on school or library letterheads and indi-cate the proposed use.

Students and teachers who need other material on spe-cific aspects of nuclear science, or references to otherreading material, may also write to the Oak Ridge address.Requests should state the topic of interest exactly, and theuse intended.

In all requests, include "Zip Code" in return address.

Printed in the United States of America

USA EC Division of Technical information Extension, Oak Ridge, Tennessee