Oceans provide essential services, both ‘visible’: food security, global trade, energy; and ‘invisible’: oxygen production.
Oceans provide food and offer marine resources. However, they are also used as waste repositories.
A major concern for the health of our oceans is acidification. This occurs as oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When dissolved, the carbon dioxide creates a more acidic environment, which can threaten marine development.
Arctic waters are particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification due to the higher capacity of cold waters to absorb carbon dioxide.
Ocean acidification within the Arctic may affect the livelihoods of communities around the world, especially those that rely on oceans for fishing or recreation.
The IAEA’s Environment Laboratories in Monaco provide training and support to Member States in the use of a variety of nuclear techniques to establish a better understanding of marine processes.
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The IAEA launched the Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre (OA-ICC) in 2012. The Centre is operated by the Environment Laboratories in Monaco.
Seafood is an essential source of protein for millions of people around the world. Nuclear techniques can help us understand how marine resources respond to future ocean acidification.
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The IAEA’s technical cooperation programme builds Member State capacities in using nuclear techniques to monitor marine life.
Isotopic techniques help us to understand the pressures on marine life and to make environmental decisions that are based on scientific evidence.
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The IAEA helps Member States develop and enhance capacities in isotopic techniques – capacities that are essential for the management and protection of marine resources.
Marine resources are also affected by harmful algal blooms (HABs), concentrations of harmful microalgae that contaminate fish and shellfish with toxins.
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If these foods are eaten by humans, they can cause anything from severe diarrhoea to paralysis, amnesia or death.
The IAEA helps Member States to address HABs by introducing monitoring and early warning programmes that provide essential information on HABs to fishermen and consumers.
The IAEA’s technical cooperation programme also helps Member States to measure radioactivity – both naturally occurring and manmade – in oceans.
