Natural News
Two prominent academic and research institutions in California are joining forces to conduct an in-depth study into how radiation from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility is affecting California's pristine kelp forests. According to a recent announcement by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the project will involve monitoring radioactive contaminants set to arrive later this year from Fukushima, further proof of the plant's continued release of radioactive materials.
Steven L. Manley, a professor of biology at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), and Kai Vetter, head of the Berkeley Lab's Applied Nuclear Physics department, will together lead a team of researchers from 19 academic and governmental institutions in tracking the extent of contamination by Fukushima radiation along the entire California coastline. From as far north as Del Norte to as far south as Baja California, the team will collect samples from the many kelp forests that stretch along the Pacific.
As it turns out, there are currently no published data on the levels of radiation present off the Pacific coast, and particularly in California's kelp forests. These forests serve not only as diverse biological communities for hundreds of species of marine life but also as a source of food and habitat for entire marine ecosystems. Without them, in other words, hordes of diversified sea creatures would quickly disappear.
"The California kelp forest is a highly productive and complex ecosystem and a valuable state resource," stated Manley in a recent statement about the project. "It is imperative that we monitor this coastal forest for any radioactive contaminants that will be arriving this year in the ocean currents from Fukushima disaster."
Read more
Two prominent academic and research institutions in California are joining forces to conduct an in-depth study into how radiation from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility is affecting California's pristine kelp forests. According to a recent announcement by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the project will involve monitoring radioactive contaminants set to arrive later this year from Fukushima, further proof of the plant's continued release of radioactive materials.
Steven L. Manley, a professor of biology at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), and Kai Vetter, head of the Berkeley Lab's Applied Nuclear Physics department, will together lead a team of researchers from 19 academic and governmental institutions in tracking the extent of contamination by Fukushima radiation along the entire California coastline. From as far north as Del Norte to as far south as Baja California, the team will collect samples from the many kelp forests that stretch along the Pacific.
As it turns out, there are currently no published data on the levels of radiation present off the Pacific coast, and particularly in California's kelp forests. These forests serve not only as diverse biological communities for hundreds of species of marine life but also as a source of food and habitat for entire marine ecosystems. Without them, in other words, hordes of diversified sea creatures would quickly disappear.
"The California kelp forest is a highly productive and complex ecosystem and a valuable state resource," stated Manley in a recent statement about the project. "It is imperative that we monitor this coastal forest for any radioactive contaminants that will be arriving this year in the ocean currents from Fukushima disaster."
Read more
No comments:
Post a Comment