Biological time bomb

Nitrate has been described as a biological time bomb . Those who enjoy their doom and gloom will be pleased to hear that there may be two such bombs, one with a physical clock and one with a biological clock. Both can be studied with the aid of computer models. 

If there is a biologically timed bomb, it must lie in the accumulation in the soil s organic matter of nitrogen that will be released as nitrate by microbes at some unknown time in the future. The calculations made in the previous section suggest that, when nitrogen fertilizer is given in excess of the needs of the crop, a... 

Rain and surface water dissolve small amounts of atmospheric C02. Significantly more C02 is added to water percolating through the soil layer, as soil air contains about 100 times more C02 as compared to free air. Soil C02 is produced by biological action such as root respiration and decay of plant material. This C02 was tagged by the atmospheric 14C concentrations, that is, about 100 pmc in pre nuclear bomb times (pre-1952) and up to 200 pmc in post-bomb years. 

It is unusual to think of any type of atmospheric contamination - especially by a radioactive species -as beneficial however, bomb-produced radiocarbon (and tritium) has proven to be extremely valuable to oceanographers. The majority of the atmospheric testing, in terms of number of tests and production, occurred over a short time interval, between 1958 and 1963, relative to many ocean circulation processes. This time history, coupled with the level of contamination and the fact that becomes intimately involved in the oceanic carbon cycle, allows bomb-produced radiocarbon to be valuable as a tracer for several ocean processes including biological activity, air-sea gas exchange, thermocline ventilation, upper ocean circulation, and upwelling. 

At the conclusion of the Gulf War, the Iraqis reported that they produced 19,000 L of pure botulinum toxin to a UN team. A total of 19,000 L of botulinum toxin is estimated, just arithmetically, to be sufficient to kill three times the current human population by inhalation. Overall, 10,000L of the toxin had been loaded into weapons. They loaded botulinum toxin into thirteen 600-km missiles and one hundred 400-lb bombs. Some of the toxin has not been accounted for. The JAMA consensus statement points out that it is noteworthy that Iraq chose to weaponize more botulinum toxin than any other of its known biological agents. ... 

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