Abstract
The Bartol in-air Pixe system has been used to study the elemental composition of many varieties of sea life; the sensitivity for the elements from Na to Sr is good, a reasonable spatial resolution is attainable and little preparation of the samples is required. Two examples are cited. First, the composition of the inner nacreous and prismatic regions of mussels ( Mytilus edulis) taken monthly (1981–1982) from the Damariscotta River, Maine, has been measured and, second, the shell and soft tissues of oysters ( Crassostrea virginica) grown under laboratory conditions on substrate of compacted residues from coal-fired power plants have been analysed. The mussel study shows a rather large anomaly in the Sr/Ca ratio for the nacreous region for May which suggests a possible connection with the reproduction cycle. Oysters grown on metal-containing coal-ash substrata gave tissue and shell metal concentrations similar to natural oysters, an indication of no anomalous uptake of metals from the coal-ash substrata.
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