The Marine Information System
The IAEA's Marine Information System is a relational database, based on GIS
(Geographical Information System), covering the distribution of radioactive and
stable isotopes, and in the near future also other tracers (organic compounds,
trace metals) in the marine environment. MARIS also includes oceanographic
parameters, such as seawater temperature, salinity and bathymetry. The database
was developed in the Radiometrics Laboratory of the IAEA's Marine Environment
Laboratory (IAEA-MEL) in Monaco. The map below shows the distribution of sites
for which data on radionuclides in the World's oceans and seas were entered
into the database.
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The first main objective of MARIS is to provide information on the radioactive
contamination of the marine environment. Formerly this function was supported
by the Global Marine Radioactivity Database (GLOMARD). MARIS contains data on
the most important radionuclides* in the world oceans and seas, (in the open
sea as well as in coastal zones), specifically in seawater, particulate matter,
biota and sediment. These data originate from published scientific papers,
reports and databases created within institutes or scientific programmes in
Member States and can be used with appropriate quotation of sources and
references. Quantification of contributions from the sources of radionuclides
in the world's oceans and seas, computer modelling of the dispersion of
radionuclides and radiological assessment studies require that IAEA's Member
States be provided with information on the past and present levels of
radionuclides in the marine environment. The IAEA acts as a clearing-house for
information on radioactive contaminants in the marine environment and makes
data on marine radionuclide levels available to Member States for future
assessment studies and the evaluation of trends in contamination of the marine
environment. In this respect IAEA-MEL has been acting as a central facility for
the collection, synthesis and interpretation of data on marine radioactivity in
the world ocean with the aim:
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to provide immediate and up-to-date information on radionuclide levels and
inventories in the seas and oceans;
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to provide a snap-shot of radionuclide levels at any time in any location;
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to investigate changes with time in radionuclide levels and inventories;
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to provide data for validation of models on the dispersion of radionuclides in
the marine environment,
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to provide bases for assessments of radiation doses to local, regional and
global human populations and to marine biota, and
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to identify gaps in available information.
The data provided by MARIS will be used as the international reference source on
radionuclide contamination of the marine environment so that any further
contributions from nuclear industry, radioactive waste disposal sites, nuclear
weapons test sites and possible nuclear accidents can be identified.
The second main objective of MARIS is to provide information on distribution of
radioactive and stable isotopes, tracer metals and organic compounds in the
world oceans and seas, which could be used as tracers for investigation of
marine processes. This part of the database will be growing substantially in
the near future, so that data on all important oceanic tracers will be
available to IAEA's Members States for oceanographic investigations. The data
stored in MARIS could be used for water and sediment dynamics studies,
investigation of processes in the water column, seawater-sediment interactions,
seawater-groundwater interactions, etc., as well as for validation of models
used in climate change studies. Data on supporting oceanographic parameters
such as seawater temperature, salinity and sea-bathymetry are mainly available
to IAEA' Member States via Internet.
* Smaller radionuclide data sets (less than 200 data/tracer) are available from
IAEA-MEL on request.
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