Abstract
The lagoon sediments of Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands contain a large selection of fallout radionuclides as a result of 43 nuclear weapon tests conducted there between 1948 and 1958 (refs 1, 2). Studies of the burial of fallout radionuclides have been conducted on the islands3,4 and in several of the large craters1,5, but studies of their vertical distribution have been limited to about the upper 20 cm of the lagoon sediments. We have found elevated fallout radionuclide concentrations buried more deeply in the lagoon sediments and evidence of burrowing into the sediment by several species of callianassid ghost shrimp (Crustacea: Thalassinidea) which has displaced highly radioactive sediment. The burrowing activities of callianassids, which are ubiquitous on the lagoon floor, facilitate radionuclide redistribution and complicate the fallout radionuclide inventory of the lagoon.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
US Atomic Energy Commission, Enewetak Radiological Survey NVO-140, Vol. 1 (Nevada Operations Office, Las Vegas, 1973).
US Department of Energy, Enewetak Radiological Support Project NVO-213, Final Rep.(Nevada Operations Office, Las Vegas, 1982).
Gudiksen, P. H. & Lynch, O. D. T. Jr Health Phys. 29, 17–25 (1975).
Bliss, W. (compiler), Enewetak Fact Book (US Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, Las Vegas, 1982).
Ristvet, B. L. Geological and Geophysical Investigations of the Eniwetok Nuclear Craters AFWL-TR-77-242 (Air Force Weapons Laboratory, Air Force Systems Command, Kirt-land AFB, 1978).
Emery, K. O., Tracy, J. I. Jr. & Ladd, H. S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap. 260-A (1954).
Suchanek, T. H. J. mar. Res. 41, 281–298 (1983).
Roberts, H. H., Suchanek, T. H. & Wiseman, W. J. Proc. 4th int. Coral Reef Symp., Manila, 1, 459–465 (1982).
Buddemeier, R. W., Biermann, A. H. & Gatrousis, C. Lawrence Livermore Laboratory Rep. UCRL-80679 (1978).
Adams, C. E., Farlow, N. H. & Schell, W. R. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 18, 42–56 (1960).
Berner, R. A. Am. J. Sci. 268, 1–23 (1970).
Noshkin, V. E. in Transuranic Elements in the Environment (ed. Hanson, W. C.) 578–601 (US Department of Energy, Washington DC, 1980).
Peng, T.-H., Broecker, W. S., Kipphut, G. & Shackleton, N. in The Fate of Fossil Fuel CO2 in the Oceans (eds Anderson, N. R. & Malahoff, A.) 355–373 (Plenum, New York, 1977).
Livingston, H. D. & Bowen, V. T. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 43, 29–45 (1979).
Santschi, P. H. et al. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 47, 201–210 (1983).
Shinn, E. A. J. Paleont. 42, 879–894 (1968).
Ott, J. A., Fuchs, B., Fuchs, R. & Malasek, A. Senckenbergiana Maritima 8, 61–79 (1976).
Pemberton, G. S., Risk, M. J. & Buckely, D. E. Science 192, 790–791 (1976).
Weaver, P. P. E. & Schultheiss, P. J. Nature 301, 329–331 (1983).
Kershaw, P. J., Swift, D. J., Pentreath, R. J. & Lovett, M. B. Nature 306, 774–775 (1983).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McMurtry, G., Schneider, R., Colin, P. et al. Redistribution of fallout radionuclides in Enewetak Atoll lagoon sediments by callianassid bioturbation. Nature 313, 674–677 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/313674a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/313674a0
This article is cited by
-
Nutrient and Trace Metal Fluxes into Estuarine Sediments Linked to Historical and Expanding Agricultural Activity (Hearnes Lake, Australia)
Estuaries and Coasts (2019)
-
Artificial radionuclides in the western Northwest Pacific (II):137Cs and239,240Pu inventories in water and sediment columns observed from 1980 to 1986
Journal of the Oceanographical Society of Japan (1987)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.