ultimately protect our oceans depends
on nuclear research tools called ‘radiotracers’.
Radiotracers are chemical compounds that
contain unique radioactive isotopes. Isotopes
of an element all have the same number of
protons in the nucleus, but varying numbers
of neutrons. Isotopes are thus forms of a
single element with differing mass. When the
composition of a nucleus does not change over
time, it is considered to be a stable isotope.
Unstable, or radioactive, isotopes ‘decay’ over
time. In other words, they transform to another
element, or energy status, through a process
known as transmutation, in which atomic
nuclei (protons and neutrons) emit highly
energetic charged and ionizing particles, and/
or highly energetic electromagnetic waves,
called gamma-ray emission.
Radioecologists routinely introduce tiny
quantities of a ‘radiotracer’, a radioactive
isotope, into a complex biological system,
for instance, to be able to observe how cells
or tissues function. Scientists can identify a
radiotracer among all the other natural and
almost identical compounds. The radiotracer’s
unique ‘isotopic signature’ produces a clearly
visible trace as it follows nutrients, energy, or
pollutants through an organism, food web
or ecosystem. Radiotracers are easy to detect
in minute quantities, therefore studies can
be conducted without poisoning organisms
or ecosystems or affecting the chemistry or
fluid dynamics of the system. The IAEA applies
radiotracers in both laboratory settings and in
field work, each of which has its own strengths.
Laboratory based experiments have the
advantage of creating simplified and artificial
ecosystems in which natural processes and
interactions can be studied uninterrupted.
Field studies tackle the complex systems of
the real world, having the potential to answer
questions about a compound’s fate, the
dynamics between different species, and how
compounds attach themselves to sediments
and/or are dispersed as pollutants into the
environment.
See full Article: http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Magazines/Bulletin/Bull543/54305610708.pdf
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