TABLE 1.—Continued
Division
or BNE
and speci
Sample
SPECIES
No.
Sargassum polyceratium
Turbinaria turbinata
4
15
32
48
53
|
|
I
19
62
liecti
Collection
Date
1961
1961
1961
1961
1961
1961
1961
_
Site
7
10
1
12
14
10
14
Soluble
Organic,
0.992
0.360
fraction
Calcium,
8.600
0.040
mg/g
g/g
.
.
.
Radium,
Thorium,
Uranium,
0.100
0.130
0.440
pCi/g
ug/g
ug/g
0.981
0.928
0.970
0.970
0.380.
0.500
11.200
14.000
9.400
8.800
0.031
0.044
0.061
0.080
6.080
0.080
0.150
0.090
‘N
X
ox
3
0.413
0.063
5
10.400
1.842
5
0.051
0.039
5
0.100
0.013
i
0.130
2
0.435
0.000
0.997
0.850
0.310
&. 200
17.100
0.024
0.007
0.110
0.130
0.220
0.610
N
xX
ox
tion with ionized oxygen.* Samples of the ash were
then irradiated in the Argonne National Laboratory
CP-5 reactor, along with suitable standards. The in-
tegrated neutron flux was approximately 5 x 101° n/
em’. After irradiation the samples were dissolved in
concentrated hydrochloric acid and fractionated by
passage through an anion exchange column. The
daughter products, #3Pa and *8°Np from the *%°Th
and **°U, produced by neutron irradiation were eluted
from the column and assayed by gamma-rayspectros-
copy.
PEE get § armen
g/g
.
Nitrogen,
Calcium
Calcium was determined by atomic adsorption
spectrophotometry.“ The determinations were made
on the same solutions used for radium analysis,
Protein Nitrogen
Protein nitrogen was determined by the micro
Kjeldah] method. One-hundred-milligram samples of
the algae were suspended in 5% trichloracetic acid
and allowed to remain overnight at 4° C. The precipi-
tate was washed by centrifugation with the trichlor-
acetic acid and then oxidized with concentrated
sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide. After partial
neutralization of the digestion mixture, the nitrogen
content was determined colorimetrically using Ness-
ler’s reagent. ‘®
Total Organic Matter
The total organic matter content was estimated
irom the loss in weight during the low temperature
* Tracerlab Low Temperature Asher, Model LTA 600, Large
Sample Assembly.
1
0.310
0.000
2
12.650
0.000
2
0.015
0.000
2
0.120
0.000
0.430
1
0.220
1
0.610
0.000
oxidation with ionized oxygen. The oxidation of or-
ganic matter is presumed to be the major contributor
to the loss of weight, but it must be recognized that
the oxidation of varlous inorganic compounds, i.e.,
bromides and iodides, may also occur and contribute
to the loss in weight.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of the analyses for (1) total organic
material, (2) the concentration of nitrogen precipitated by trichloracetic acid (as an index of protein
content), (3) calcium, (4) radium, (5) thorium, and
(6) uranium are given in Table 1 together with other
data pertinent to the identification of the individual
algal samples. The first three of these analyses are
representative of the major chemical components of
the algae.
Calerum is considered a major component because,
of the ten divisions into which algae have been classified, five contain members which lay down appreciable concentrations of calectum carbonate.Three of
the five divisions, the green algae (Chlorophyta), the
brown algae (Phaeophyta) and the red algae (Rhodophyta) are represented in the samplings made in this
study. For Chlorophyta the calcareous algae belong
to the families of the order Siphonales—the Dasy-
cladeceae (Cympolia) and the Codiaceae (Halimeda
opuntia and Penicillus capitatus). On the other hand
Padina gymnospera is the sole representative of the
Phaeophyta which calcifies, and for the Rhodophyta
there was a single collection of Galaxaura cylindrica
which is highly calcified. The results from the analysis of a limited series of samples of seawater and sand
are given in Table 2. The analytical results presented