Cold and quiet and look -- kelp. Next month, batches of it will be tested for radioactivity.

From the Malibu Times:

A research team led by UCLA ecologist Peggy Fong will take 15-lb. samples at locations off Escondido Beach and a second site near County Line Beach sometime between Feb. 24 and March 5. More than 20 labs and universities will take place in a West Coast-wide effort called Kelp Watch 2014, testing 35 sites from Alaska to Baja.

Found up and down the coast, these canopy-forming kelps act like sponges and absorb most of what is in the water. The kelp serves essentially as a natural dosimeter, which means it measures an absorbed dose of radiation.

No public health risk, the state Department of Public Health says.