the oceans and the movement and concentration of pollutants 

 in the oceans. Emphasis is on atmospheric and riverine path- 

 ways, and on chemical, biological, and geological processes that 

 affect the distribution and concentration of pollutants. Objec- 

 tives of studies are to: provide information about the altera- 

 tion of physical and chemical properties of pollutants, and 

 determine the environmental factors affecting and the principles 

 governing pollutant transfer. Projects in this program are listed 

 in table 3. Some results and ongoing activities of pollutant 

 transfer studies are summarized. 



Organization: California Institute of Technology 



Investigator: C. C. Patterson 



Project title: Determination of the Input and Transport of 



Pollutant Lead in Marine Environments Using Isotope 



Tracers 

 Grant No.: ID074-24362 



In cooperation with several other groups of investigators, 

 the principal investigator, has been studying mass balance mod- 

 els of inputs of toxic substances to the Southern California 

 Bight from local urban regions during the past year. Studies 

 were made to determine lead concentrations in water, sediment, 

 and organisms and to determine isotopic compositions for use 

 as tracers in identifying sources of industrial leads. 



The absolute amounts of lead collected by aerosol im- 

 pactors are quite small in offshore regions. Data obtained by 



other investigators were uncertain because of contamination 

 and analytic error problems. The isotopic composition of the 

 impactor lead samples can be used to identify their sources. 

 For these reasons the principal investigator and associates con- 

 structed, cleaned, and used their own inipactors to collect 

 aerosols — on an island 25 miles off shore, in the central Los 

 Angeles basin, and at the rim of the mountains around the 

 basin (Mt. Wilson). The investigators have been able to delin- 

 eate three different types of lead: an ocean atmosphere lead, a 

 Southern California basin atmospheric lead, and a Northern 

 California basin atmospheric lead. This delineation is consis- 

 tent with prevailing wind patterns. 



Other mass-balance-of-lead investigations were concerned 

 with the input of lead to the ocean from storm runoff and 

 wastewater, as well as its deposition in the sediments. Major 

 topics of investigation were: 



A. Occurrence of lead in seawater 



1. Speciation of lead in seawater 



2. Isotopic compositions of seawater leads 



B. Occurrence of lead in tuna fish 



C. Lead-in-seawater workshop 



During the past year, a major advance was the discovery that 

 much of the lead in seawater may be adsorbed on the mucilage 

 of algae. In higher organisms lead is adsorbed on the albumin- 

 oid slime of the epidermis. 



Table 3. — U.S. institutions, investigators, and projects in Pollutant Transfer Studies program 



Organization 



Investigator 



Project title 



California Institute of Technology 



University of California, 

 Bodega Marine Laboratory 



University of California, 



Scripps Institution of Oceanography 



University of Georgia, 



Skidaway Institute of Oceanography 



Harvard University 



San Jose State University 



Texas A & M University 



University of Rhode Island 



Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 



C. C. Patterson 



R. Risebrough 



E. Goldberg 

 R. Lasker* 



H. L. Windom 

 J. N. Butler 

 J. H. Martin 

 B. J. Presley 

 R. A. Duce 

 G. R. Harvey 



Determination of Input and Transport of Pollutant Lead 

 in Marine Environments Using Isotope Tracers 



Formulation of Mass Balance Equations for Polychlori- 

 nated Biphenyls in Marine Ecosystems 



Fluxes of Synthetic Organics in the Marine Environment 



Exchange Rates of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons and 

 Similar Chemicals in Marine Food Chains Established 

 in the Laboratory 



Transfer of Heavy Metals Through the Inner Continental 

 Shelf to the Open Ocean 



Transfer of Persistent Pollutants in Sargassum Com- 

 munities 



Cadmium Transport to the Open Pacific Ocean via the 

 California Current System 



Quantities and Forms of Pollutants Carried by the 

 Mississippi River and Their Fate in the Gulf of Mexico 



Atmospheric Pollutant Transfer and Deposition on Sea 

 Surface 



Uptake and Transfer of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons in 

 the Atlantic Ocean 



* National Marine Fisheries Service 

 4 



