Radioactivity Monitoring in Ocean Ecosystems (RAMONES)

Natural radioactivity in the marine environment has been present since the Earth's formation, while artificial radionuclides were introduced into the oceans in 1944. More recent direct sources exist that feed the oceans, such as low-level liquid discharges from reprocessing plants, large-scale releases due to disasters (e.g. Fukushima hit by the tsunami in 2011), and smaller-scale radiological events. Exploration of submarine environments should consider the existence of radioactivity in terms of its short- and long-term impact on marine and coastal ecosystems, also in correlation to natural hazards, such as seismic activity over submarine faults or activity of hydrothermal vent fields near the seabed. Significantly undersampled in oceans, radioactivity poses real risks to marine ecosystems and human population, urging for detailed, data-driven modeling.