Thread: WHY IS'NT MSM REPORTING ON THE escalating DANGERS of Radiation, UPDATED

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Dr. M

Is the sea floor littered with dead animals due to radiation? No.


In spring 2012, the muddy seafloor at Station M was literally covered with the silvery bodies of dead salps (gelatinous midwater animals that feed on microscopic algae). This debris provided food for seafloor animals such as sea cucumbers. Image © 2012 MBARI

Recently we at Deep-Sea News have tried to combat misinformation about the presence of high levels of Fukushima radiation and its impact on marine organisms on the west coast of the United States. After doing thorough research, reading the scientific literature, and consulting with experts and colleagues, we have found no evidence of either. In the comments of those posts and on Twitter, readers have asked us about the “evidence” of dead marine life covering 98% of ocean floor in the Pacific as directly attributed to Fukushima radiation. After some searching I found the main “news” article that is referenced.

The Pacific Ocean appears to be dying, according to a new study recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in California recently discovered that the number of dead sea creatures blanketing the floor of the Pacific is higher than it has ever been in the 24 years that monitoring has taken place, a phenomenon that the data suggests is a direct consequence of nuclear fallout from Fukushima.

Before I discuss this “evidence” further, I want to provide a little background. I am a deep-sea biologist and over the last several years my research has focused on the biodiversity of deep-sea communities off the California coast. Like many others, I am also working toward understanding how deep-sea life will respond to increased anthropogenic impacts particularly climate change. This resulted in a high profile publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. I mention this background because 1. It explains why I view myself as an expert to comment on this and 2. it explains why I was confounded for a moment when I thought I had missed a paper in a journal I have published in, on a geographic region I study, and on a topic close to my own research. And to boot from researchers at institution (MBARI) I was formerly employed with.
The reason I am unfamiliar with a study providing evidence of “Dead sea creatures cover 98 percent of ocean floor off California coast; up from 1 percent before Fukushima” is because no such study exists. Here are the details of the actual study.


Station M is a long-term study site on the abyssal plain, about 220 kilometers (140 miles) off the Central California coast and 4,000 meters (13,100) feet below the ocean surface. Base image: Google Earth. From MBARI

Ken Smith’s group at MBARI has monitored a deep-sea abyssal site called Station M off the California coast continuously since 1989 (24 years). Their work has lead to many major findings. A majority of deep-sea animals are completely reliant on the sinking of food from the surface, i.e. marine snow. One of the most important findings from Smith and colleagues’ work is that rhythm of deep-sea life is intrinsically linked to the production of phytoplankton at the oceans surface. Thus El Nino/La Nina cycles and other such meteorological/oceanic events leave a deep-sea signature. Ken’s research has been paradigm shifting for deep-sea research. We have moved from a belief of a stable and climate-buffered view of the deep sea to one of a dynamic system intimately related to seasonal, annual, and decadal changes in surface production and ocean currents.

This group’s newest paper
Smith, K. L., H. A. Ruhl, M. Kahru, C. L. Huffard, and A. D. Sherman. (2013). Deep ocean communities impacted by changing climate over 24 y in the abyssal northeast Pacific Ocean. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1315447110.
reports findings that large and episodic pulses of marine snow occur. These large blizzards are met by hungry deep-sea animals that quickly gobble the meal. The amount of food these blizzards deliver are huge equaling years, if not decades, of normal marine snow. But the amounts and frequency of both normal marine snow and the blizzards are changing.


Sea cucumbers at Station M feed on dead algae (brown material on gray deep-sea mud) that sank from the sunlit surface waters after a massive algal bloom. Image © 2012 MBARI

From 2003 to 2012 the amount of phytoplankton production, fodder for marine snow, was higher than years prior. After 2006, the frequency of spikes in marine snow, i.e. blizzards, also increased. In the summer of 2011, the first of three dramatic blizzards occurred. During this event a large number of diatoms bloomed at the surface and sank rapidly to the seafloor. The second event in the spring/early summer of 2012, was triggered by a major bloom of gelatinous salps. As mentioned in the press release of the paper, “These salps became so abundant that they blocked the seawater intake of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, located on the California coast east of Station M.” When these salps died, as they do after a bloom, they carpeted the seafloor. In September 2012 another plankton bloom occurred and this combined with fecal pellets from salps (who hungrily munched on the algae) again carpeted the floor with marine snow. In addition the greatest amounts of marine snow and consumption by deep-sea life (as measured by respiration rates) occurred in the last two years of the time series.


Modified from Smith et al. 2013. Long time-series measurements from July 1989 through November 2012 at Station M in the northeast Pacific Ocean on a monthly basis. Blue bars highlight the timing of peaks in NPP (a proxy for phytoplankton production) from 2010 to 2012. (B) Net primary production (NPP) within 100-km-radius circle around Station M. (C) Satellite estimated EF (export flux a measurement of the amount of material sinking to the deep sea) in a 100-km-radius circle around Station M, calculated for a nominal depth of 100 m.

What caused these recent changes in marine snow?
From the paper,

The abyssal area surrounding Station M is influenced by the California Current, which is experiencing increased wind stress, resulting in increased upwelling of nutrient-rich subsurface waters, contributing to increased primary production. With increasing primary production there has been a corresponding increase in POC flux and detrital aggregate accumulation on the sea floor over the past several years.

And from the press release,

The researchers note that deep-sea feasts may be increasing in frequency off the Central California coast, as well as at some other deep-sea study sites around the world. Over the last decade, the waters off Central California have seen stronger winds, which bring more nutrients, such as nitrate, to the ocean surface. These nutrients act like fertilizer, triggering blooms of algae, which, in turn, sometimes feed blooms of salps. The fallout from all of this increased productivity eventually ends up on the seafloor.

Nowhere does the paper or the press release mention radiation or Fukushima. Nilch, negatory, nadda, never.

But this is not good enough for staff writer Ethan Hunt and others outlets that continue to recycle this story.

Though the researchers involved with the work have been reluctant to pin Fukushima as a potential cause — National Geographic, which covered the study recently, did not even mention Fukushima — the timing of the discovery suggests that Fukushima is, perhaps, the cause.

MBARI today also issued a press release addressing the “several misleading stories [that] have been in circulation on the internet.” The press release points out the obvious.

1. MBARI research actually showed evidence that there were MORE algae and salps living in California surface waters during 2011 and 2012 than during the previous 20 years.
2. Salps are small gelatinous animals that eat single-celled algae. They are known to experience large blooms in their populations. Large populations of salps have been periodically documented in California waters since at least the 1950s.
3. Blooms of gelatinous animals (including salps) and single-celled algae are a common occurrence off the California Coast. They come and go, running their course when they use up their food and nutrients.
4. Animals and algae that live in the surface waters eventually die. If they are not eaten in surface waters then they sink to the deep sea. This is the main food source for deep-sea animal and microbe communities.
5. Soon after the salp bloom and die-off at the surface in 2012, the deep seafloor at the researchers’ study site was littered with dead salps. This was observed at one location, and salps were the only dead animals observed in large numbers.
6. There is no indication that any of the events in this study were associated with the Fukushima nuclear accident.

I will also note the Fukushima disaster occurred in March 2011, five years after the researches begin to see changes in surface production. To reiterate the statements points, there is evidence of more life recently in California waters. The supposed “die off” is a common feature of any bloom of short-lived invertebrates.

The “die off” was experienced at one location and with one species. The entire Pacific seafloor is not littered with dying organisms. I would also point out that these massive food falls of marine invertebrates are a common occurrence. For example, in 2002 a massive deposition of jellyfish was seen in the deep Arabian Sea.

As I write this post on this cold Saturday morning, my attitude matches. I have wanted to write about this paper for a while here at DSN. And I’m sorry I did not. I shoudn’t be defending great science against propaganda and poor journalism. I should be writing about how this paper answers a major question about the deep sea.
Previous studies have noted that the energy requirements of deep-sea animals could not be met by normal and minimal marine snow. Research over the last decade or so set out to determine how this deficit is made up. Smith and colleagues’ work solves this riddle. Deep-sea animals simply wait for a sporadic feast. Smith’s work suggests this is likely linked to climatic events.

If anything the paper is a cautionary tale of climate change not radiation.

http://deepseanews.com/2014/01/is-th...-radiation-no/
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POSTED ON

JANUARY 4, 2014 BY DR. M

Is the sea floor littered with dead animals due to radiation? No.

http://deepseanews.com/2014/01/is-th...-radiation-no/

Dr. M Craig McClain is the Assistant Director of Science for the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, created to facilitate research to address fundamental questions in evolutionary science. He has conducted deep-sea research for 11 years and published over 40 papers in the area. He has participated in dozens of expeditions taking him to the Antarctic and the most remote regions of the Pacific and Atlantic. Craig’s research focuses mainly on marine systems and particularly the biology of body size, biodiversity, and energy flow. He focuses often on deep-sea systems as a natural test of the consequences of energy limitation on biological systems. He is the author and chief editor of Deep-Sea News, a popular deep-sea themed blog, rated the number one ocean blog on the web and winner of numerous awards. Craig’s popular writing has been featured in Cosmos, Science Illustrated, American Scientist, Wired, Mental Floss, and the Open Lab: The Best Science Writing on the Web.

http://deepseanews.com/2014/01/is-th...-radiation-no/

@ http://www.alipac.us/f19/fukushima-radiation-scare-stories-going-viral-they-real-fake-295406/

Yes the government, sheeple and some bought and paid for scientists are trying their best to make us believe that no matter how much radiation hits California coast all is well......and never mind the two or three hundred tons of radiation pouring out of Fukishima......daily...... headed this way....

PLEASE everyone go back to sleep....and eat lots of fish....don't want those fisheries and sushi bars to lose money because of that pesky old radiation.....

CBS San Francisco: “Widespread distrust” of scientists over Fukushima — Official: “People are worried, people want to know what’s going on” — UC Berkeley professor admits much of his funding is from gov’t: If you don’t trust us, who is it you want to trust? Says man-made cesium-137 is “natural background radiation” (VIDEO)

Published: February 1st, 2014 at 9:51 am ET By ENENews

CBS San Francisco, Jan. 31, 2014: Concerns about radioactive water now stretch from the activism hotbed of Berkeley to the peaceful sands of Monterey Bay. The town of Fairfax has even appealed to the United Nations for guidance on the matter. [...] For an expert opinion,

KPIX 5 visited Kai Vetter, a nuclear physics professor at UC Berkeley. [...] there are fears about contaminated seafood [...] not everyone is convinced by Vetter’s assurance that, for now, Fukushima presents no health threats on the West Coast.

There is widespread distrust of scientists that some see as too closely related to the nuclear power industry.

Vetter admits he receives much of his funding from the Department of Energy, but he insists he has no reason to misrepresent his findings.



Kai Vetter, nuclear physics professor at UC Berkeley

Professor Kai Vetter, UC Berkeley: “That’s a very good question. Trust is something very precious. I certainly live in California. I’m also concerned about my family, my neighbors and my friends. If you don’t want to trust us, who is it you want to trust?”


More from Vetter: “I mean we are living in a world which is radioactive [...] We still see Cesium-137 back from the atmospheric tests in the 40s & 50s. We still see that. It’s, in a way, part of our natural background now.”


John Reed, Fairfax Town Council member: “People are worried, people want to know what’s going on [...] I’m not eating mahi-mahi sushi, it’s good to be careful.”


CBS San Francisco, anchor: “Chances are you have heard the dire warnings about Fukushima radiation, they seem to be everywhere these days, 3 years after the disaster.”


CBS San Francisco, reporter: “For now, testing from Hawaii to California shows radiation levels to threaten human health or marine life.”

http://enenews.com/cbs-san-francisco...uch-of-his-fun

Vetter admits he receives much of his funding from the Department of Energy, but he insists he has no reason to misrepresent his findings.

Right and if you believe that I have some swamp land that I would loveeeee to sell you....

Originally Posted by April

Yes the government, sheeple and some bought and paid for scientists are trying their best to make us believe that no matter how much radiation hits California coast all is well......and never mind the two or three hundred tons of radiation pouring out of Fukishima......daily...... headed this way....

PLEASE everyone go back to sleep....and eat lots of fish....don't want those fisheries and sushi bars to lose money because of that pesky old radiation.....

OR, the anti-nuke groups (which are funded by the coal producers) are pumping out fake information so that the coal companies can sell more coal, and pollute our air and water.

1. Coal Ash Is More Radioactive than Nuclear Waste - Scientific ...
   
   www.scientificamerican.com › ... › Strange but True‎
   Scientific American
   By burning away all the pesky carbon and other impurities, coal power plants ... Fly ash is also disposed of in landfills and abandoned mines and quarries, posing ... to the accumulating impacts of daily incremental pollution from burning coal or .... got sick and thats by groups like Green Peace who are anti-nuclear so would ...

Hey I thought you had your own thread JD on Fukushima...not getting enough views on it I guess. I really do not think anyone is going to buy what you are trying to sell on here either............we are JUST not buying that 300 to 400 tons of radiation going into the ocean daily FOR YEARS is perfectly healthy and there will be no repercussions....the sheeple that do ...well we know how that rolls...



BTW who do you work for??? You always seem to promote the mainstream media view.........it makes one wonder just who you work for....

The more truth that comes out on this crisis the more scientists the government seems buy to make up stupid reasons why everything is fine, anyone with any sense knows that radiation in large quantities going into the oceans for years is going to affect all kinds of sea and human life.That is common sense. Those who try to make light of it are sticking their heads in the sand in my opinion and ones lying about it are getting paid off and of course it is all of us who will suffer, if we do not heed the warnings. Thank you for the warnings and information April.

You are welcome FL!

Nuclear Engineer: “Very huge catastrophe” for melted fuel to burn into ground — Radioactive material “will go all around the world” once in underground water — Chernobyl made cement barrier below reactor, #Fukushima did not (VIDEO)

Published: February 1st, 2014 at 11:46 am ET

At 2:00 in
Natalia Manzurova, nuclear engineer called to Chernobyl for 4+ years to study radiation’s effect on the environment and to help cleanup workers:
To cover the burning reactor core, they started dropping bags of sand and cement into the reactor and all this stuff — due to very high temperature — melted, and covered the burning reactor as a lid. And for 24 hours the whole world was on the edge of a very huge catastrophe because from above the reactor was covered, was closed, but it was going to burn down. If the reactor burned through the ground, then all this huge radioactivity will go to underground water, and it will go all around the world.
In Fukushima, now they are cooling the upper part of the reactor, but the center of the reactor has been melted down, and this melted reactor will discharge huge temperature to the bottom of the reactor. If the tragedy that the melted reactors will go through the bottom to the underground, it’s the question.
Russian miners, in order for this not to happen, they had to drill tunnels. Sacrificing their own lives, they put cement into the tunnels on the bottom of the reactor, so the reactor will be closed from beneath.
Watch the presentation here

http://enenews.com/nuclear-engineer-...-barrier-below