Transient Tracer

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-028542",
  "term": "Transient Tracer",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "Chemical elements (often radioactive) or compounds that have finite lifetimes. Atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s released large quantities of radionuclides to the atmosphere. Atmosphere-ocean exchange processes have transferred some of these elements to the oceans. Studying the behavior and distribution of these specific isotopes and other chemical tracers in the ocean will provide information on: residence times of the water and its dissolved components in gyres, basins, etc.; the mode and rate of formation and the subsequent spreading rates of specific water types, such as the polar water of the Norwegian and Greenland Seas; deep-ocean circulation and ocean- mixing processes, such as advection and upwelling; and the flux of anthropogenic carbon dioxide into the ocean through its correlation with several different transient tracers.",
  "references": [
    "NASA Sustainable Development Indicators Glossary"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/transient-tracer/"
}