Variation of Cesium in the Ocean

Abstract

Samples of sea water from several oceans and several depths were analyzed for natural cesium by flame photometry with precision of about 3.5 percent. The average of 16 assays of surface water from four oceans was 0.37 microgram per liter, somewhat less than the average previously reported. The average cesium concentration in samples taken between 500 and 1500 meters was about 14 percent higher than the surface average, suggesting that cesium may be transported downward by particulate material. Natural cesiumn is now somewhat easier to study in the ocean than radiocesium from fallout is, and information on one complements the other.