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Research Article

Radiation maps of ocean sediment from the Castle Bravo crater

Emlyn W. Hughes, Monica Rouco Molina, Maveric K. I. L. Abella, Ivana Nikolić-Hughes, and Malvin A. Ruderman
  1. aK=1 Project, Center for Nuclear Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
  2. bDepartment of Physics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
  3. cDepartment of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027

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PNAS July 30, 2019 116 (31) 15420-15424; first published July 15, 2019; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1903478116
Emlyn W. Hughes
aK=1 Project, Center for Nuclear Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
bDepartment of Physics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
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  • For correspondence: ewh42@columbia.edu mar@astro.columbia.edu
Monica Rouco Molina
aK=1 Project, Center for Nuclear Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
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Maveric K. I. L. Abella
aK=1 Project, Center for Nuclear Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
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Ivana Nikolić-Hughes
aK=1 Project, Center for Nuclear Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
cDepartment of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
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Malvin A. Ruderman
bDepartment of Physics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
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  • For correspondence: ewh42@columbia.edu mar@astro.columbia.edu
  1. Contributed by Malvin A. Ruderman, May 14, 2019 (sent for review March 1, 2019; reviewed by David Kawall and Yury G. Kolomensky)

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Significance

High-yield thermonuclear explosions cause enormous radioactive contamination to the environment. These “hydrogen bombs,” when tested on small islands in the ocean, vaporize the land and produce radionuclides that settle in the ocean sediment. Even decades later, significant contamination may remain in the sediment surface and deep into the sediment layers. Measuring the radioactive contamination of the crater sediment is a first step in assessing the overall impact of nuclear weapons testing on the ocean ecosystems. We find radiation levels orders of magnitude above background for plutonium-(239,240), americium-241, and bismuth-207 in the top 25 cm of sediment across the entire Bravo bomb crater, the location of the largest aboveground US nuclear weapons test.

Abstract

On March 1, 1954, the United States conducted its largest thermonuclear weapon test in Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands; the detonation was code-named “Castle Bravo.” Radioactive deposits in the ocean sediment at the bomb crater are widespread and high levels of contamination remain today. One hundred thirty cores were collected from the top 25 cm of surface sediment at ocean depths approaching 60 m over a ∼2-km2 area, allowing for a presentation of radiation maps of the Bravo crater site. Radiochemical analyses were performed on the following radionuclides: plutonium-(239,240), plutonium-238, americium-241, bismuth-207, and cesium-137. Large values of plutonium-(239,240), americium-241, and bismuth-207 are found. Comparisons are made to core sample results from other areas in the northern Marshall Islands.

  • Bravo crater
  • Bikini Island
  • cesium-137
  • ocean sediment
  • plutonium

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: ewh42{at}columbia.edu or mar{at}astro.columbia.edu.
  • Author contributions: E.W.H., I.N.-H., and M.A.R. designed research; E.W.H. and M.R.M. performed research; E.W.H. and M.K.I.L.A. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; E.W.H., M.K.I.L.A., and M.R.M. analyzed data; and E.W.H., I.N.-H., and M.A.R. wrote the paper.

  • Reviewers: D.K., University of Massachusetts Amherst; and Y.G.K., University of California, Berkeley.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • Copyright © 2019 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

This open access article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND).

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Radiation maps of ocean sediment from the Castle Bravo crater
Emlyn W. Hughes, Monica Rouco Molina, Maveric K. I. L. Abella, Ivana Nikolić-Hughes, Malvin A. Ruderman
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jul 2019, 116 (31) 15420-15424; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1903478116

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Radiation maps of ocean sediment from the Castle Bravo crater
Emlyn W. Hughes, Monica Rouco Molina, Maveric K. I. L. Abella, Ivana Nikolić-Hughes, Malvin A. Ruderman
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jul 2019, 116 (31) 15420-15424; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1903478116
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