19
removed by local reduction and precipitation of the hydroxide,
and the other four by organic reactions.
Krauskopf's findings
are of profound significance to the problem under consideration
in this thesis,
the fate of a radioisotope of zinc from fallout
after its introduction into sea water.
His conclusion that sea
water is undersaturated with respect to zine would suggest that
the zinc-65 associated with the fallout particles would tend to
dissolve and undergo isotopic dilution with the stable isotopes
of zine present in the sea water unless prevented by some mechanism guch as adsorption.
3.131
Scavenging by inorganic hydrosolg.
Goldberg (1954)
has discussed the scavenging of trace elements from sea water by
adsorption to inorganic hydrosols.
sense,
Scavenging,
in a chemical
is defined as the adsorption of a microcomponent to a
gelatinous or finely divided precipitate,
The process depends
upon the charge and size of the adsorbed ion and the topographical character of the adsorbing surface.
The electrical charge
of the scavenging agent must be opposite to the charge of the
adsorbed ions; consequently the ionic species most effectively
adsorbed are those with the highest charge densities.
The
effectiveness with which trace element ions are adsorbed is
enhanced by the formation of insoluble compounds or strong