It carries a complex cocktail of common elements such as sodium and calcium, heavy metals such as cadmium and lead, organic matter such as decaying algae and plankton faeces, and radioactive elements such as potassium, polonium and uranium. Would you choose to swim in it?
If you have ever been to the beach for a swim, then you already have, because these are just a few of the natural constituents of ocean water.
Environmental scientists from the Australian Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) are turning up some results about the properties of seawater that are surprising the scientific community. According to ANSTO Marine Scientist, Ron Szymczak, recent presentations of these results to
international conferences have caused some consternation in scientific circles.
"Our investigation of the occurrence of the natural radioisotope lead-210, which decays to polonium-210, has surprised marine scientists. We believe our results show that the levels of these radioactive constituents can be used to interpret how the occurrence of trace elements in the ocean varies depending on the environment. This may have significant ramifications for our understanding of natural processes in the oceans, and how different areas of the ocean will react to changes in climate and pollutant discharges."
ANSTO environmental scientists including Dr Ross Jeffree, Dr Gillian Peck and Ron Szymczak have travelled throughout the South Pacific to take ocean samples, which are analysed using the state of the art facilities at Lucas Heights. The ongoing research is investigating complex interactions between different types of plankton, naturally-occurring radioisotopes and trace elements. Effectively, this work shows how biology in the ocean can influence the distribution of elements and vice versa.
Ron Szymczak says that with recent concerns about climate change, the scientific spotlight has fallen on the geochemical nature of the ocean. "I remember attending climate conferences not that many years ago where marine scientists would struggle to get attention, but this has changed. Many of our ideas about the ocean from only 15 to 20 years ago have been thrown away, and we are learning at a rapid rate how dynamic the oceans really are," he said.