ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Environment

Turtle shells hold hidden information about nuclear contamination

Uranium signatures persist in their shells even decades after World War Two.

Fermin KoopbyFermin Koop
August 25, 2023
in Animals, Environment
A A
Edited and reviewed by Zoe Gordon
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

Effects from past nuclear activities leave a traceable chemical legacy. Isotopic signals from nuclear tests and attacks make their mark in environments near and far from the detonation locations. Now, researchers have also found these signals in an unexpected place: the shells of turtles, tortoises, and sea turtles. This doesn’t seem to affect the animals, but it could be useful to monitor radioactive elements in nature.

turtle photos nuclear
Using a Geiger counter to examine a green sea turtle for potential radioactivity in 1957. Image credits: US National Archives.

During the Cold War, the US developed a large nuclear weapons complex. This involved multiple sites across all working to produce weapons from natural uranium. Although these weapons were never used in an act of war, they were still tested. When they were tested, they produced nuclear contamination in the environment.

An estimated 30-80 million cubic meters of polluted soil and 1.8-4.7 cubic meters of polluted water were produced during these nuclear tests. Cyler Conrad from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory wanted to see whether traces of this pollution show up in biological samples. Specifically, Conrad and his team explored the shells of turtles, and tortoises, looking for traces of human-made uranium. They looked at shells from five different specimens in places linked to uranium buildup.

Lo and behold, they found that the shells preserved a timeline of exposure to the atomic materials.

The world’s nuclear history — trapped in tissues

Uranium signatures were found in a green sea turtle from Enewetak Atoll. This atoll lies in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, deep in the Pacific Ocean. A desert tortoise from southwestern Utah close to the Nevada National Security Site, also exhibited traces of uranium, as did a river cooter in South Carolina and a box turtle in Tennessee, where nuclear weapon tests were carried out after World War Two.

The turtle from Enewetak Atoll was collected in 1978, about 20 years after the end of nuclear testing at the site. The box turtle’s most contaminated shell layer was the one it was born with, suggesting an even higher contamination than its mother, which is surprising, given that the mother would have been closer to the original nuclear test.

In their study, the researchers used a mass spectrometer — a device that detects the chemical components of a material. The shells weren’t radioactive and the health of the animals wasn’t affected, but the traces were clearly detectable.

RelatedPosts

Ancient turtle embryo preserved inside thick, tough egg
Baby turtles save energy by working together to dig themselves out the nest
There are only 10 Royal Cambodian Turtles left in the wild
Sea turtles use Earth’s magnetic field like a GPS to find their birthplace

The researchers were surprised that they could detect the uranium and match the isotope signature to the site’s nuclear history. Speaking with Scientific American, Conrad said he hopes their technique could be used by scientists trying to understand where and when nuclear activity happened and how nuclear materials move into animals. Despite this extensive legacy of nuclear testing, we still don’t know exactly how the natural world was affected by it.

Ultimately, the study underscores the persistence of the footprint of nuclear testing on Earth and its links with the natural world, transcending generations and species. The splitting of radioactive elements gives nuclear weapons their power. But a weapon’s creation and detonation then sheds these elements, which are taken up into the ecosystem via soil and water.

Germán Orizaola, a researcher at the University of Oviedo in Spain, not involved in the study, told New Scientist that the study could be a breakthrough for radioecology research using zoological collections in museums. Clare Bradshaw from Stockholm University also told New Scientist that the technique could be used on living turtles.

The study was published in the journal PNAS Nexus.

Tags: turtle

ShareTweetShare
Fermin Koop

Fermin Koop

Fermin Koop is a reporter from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He holds an MSc from Reading University (UK) on Environment and Development and is specialized in environment and climate change news.

Related Posts

Animals

How ‘Dancing’ Turtles Are Helping Scientists Unlock the Secrets of Magnetic Navigation

byTibi Puiu
3 months ago
Dinosaurs

Are turtles dinosaurs? Their evolution took its own distinct path

byMihai Andrei
1 year ago
Amphibians

What do pet turtles (and wild ones) eat? The definitive guide

byFermin Koop
2 years ago
Animals

Almost all of Florida’s turtles are now born female. Global heating is to blame

byFermin Koop
3 years ago

Recent news

This Startup Is Using Ancient DNA to Recreate Perfumes from Extinct Flowers

May 21, 2025

Jupiter Was Twice Its Size and Had a Magnetic Field 50 Times Stronger After the Solar System Formed

May 21, 2025

How One Man and a Legendary Canoe Rescued the Dying Art of Polynesian Navigation

May 21, 2025 - Updated on May 22, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.