Book Description

Tropical Radioecology is a guide to the wide range of scientific practices and principles of this multidisciplinary field. It brings together past and present studies in the tropical and subtropical areas of the planet, highlighting the unique aspects of tropical systems. Until recently, radioecological models for tropical environments have depended upon data derived from temperate environments, despite the differences of these regions in terms of biota and abiotic conditions. Since radioactivity can be used to trace environmental processes in humans and other biota, this book offers examples of studies in which radiotracers have been used to assess biokinetics in tropical biota. This book: Features chapters co-authored by world experts that explain the origins, inputs, distributions, behaviour, and consequences of radioactivity in tropical and subtropical systems. Provides comprehensive lists of relevant data and identifies current knowledge gaps to allow for targeted radioecological research in the future. Integrates radioecological information into the most recent radiological consequences modelling and best-practice probabilistic ecological risk analysis methodology, given the need to understand the implications of enhanced socio-economic development in the world's tropical regions. John Twining has published research and conducted field and laboratory studies on the nuclear industry's impact on the environment over four decades. While much of this work has been related to Australia's role as a uranium supplier, he has also evaluated this impact at the Maralinga test sites in the deserts of central Australia and the effects of French testing in the central Pacific. John also focused on the uptake of radionuclides by crops and the use of isotopes as tracers of biological processes. Much of this work was accomplished in tropical or subtropical environments, and this experience proved valuable for Tropical Radioecology. John is now associate editor for the Journal of Environmental Radioecology and a self-employed consultant radioecologist.