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| Local kelp, the organism pictured here in the Malibu Colony, is going to be tested later this year for possible radiation contamination related to the March 2011 Japanese tsunami and resulting Fukushima radiation leaks. (photo: Dave Lichten/The Malibu Times) |
Scientists to test Malibu Kelp for Fukushima radiation
by Joshua Spidel, The Malibu Times,
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by Joshua Spidel, The Malibu Times,
29 January 2014
MALIBU — In California, kelp is at once admired for its underwater beauty, grumbled over as a beach obstacle and served up on dinner plates. Now it is being used in the name of science.
Researchers will visit Malibu next month to test local kelp as part of a West Coast-wide effort to determine the levels of residual radiation released in 2011 when tsunamis damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan.
MALIBU — In California, kelp is at once admired for its underwater beauty, grumbled over as a beach obstacle and served up on dinner plates. Now it is being used in the name of science.
Researchers will visit Malibu next month to test local kelp as part of a West Coast-wide effort to determine the levels of residual radiation released in 2011 when tsunamis damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan.
“Whatever is in the sea water will be magnified in the kelp,” says Steven Manley, a biology professor at Cal State Long Beach.
A research team led by UCLA ecologist Peggy Fong will take 15-pound samples at locations off Escondido Beach and a second site near County Line Beach sometime between Feb. 24 and March 5. More than 20 labs and universities will take place in the effort, called Kelp Watch 2014, testing 35 sites from Alaska to Baja.
A research team led by UCLA ecologist Peggy Fong will take 15-pound samples at locations off Escondido Beach and a second site near County Line Beach sometime between Feb. 24 and March 5. More than 20 labs and universities will take place in the effort, called Kelp Watch 2014, testing 35 sites from Alaska to Baja.