A radiocarbon bomb pulse model for estimating the age of North Atlantic cetaceans
Eva Garde, Susanne Ditlevsen, Jesper Olsen, Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen · 2024
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Description
Eva Garde and co-authors present a 2024 study aging whales with atomic bomb carbon. The male narwhal's tusk is a spiral tooth up to three meters long. It grows in yearly layers of dentine under a cement coating. If one layer truly forms per year, tusks are living calendars. The team measures bomb-era radiocarbon in tusk layers from three narwhals. Samples also come from hidden teeth, tip and base. Published data from three other North Atlantic whale species widen the model.
Matching layer carbon to the known bomb pulse dates each layer. The match validates the one-layer-per-year rule. Marine biologists get a firmer aging tool for whales that cannot be watched across a lifespan. Age structures drive population models behind hunting quotas and protection plans. Bomb carbon is a rare absolute clock in ocean science, and this work extends its reach to more species.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Eva Garde, Susanne Ditlevsen, Jesper Olsen, Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2024 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 32 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |