Carbon from nuclear tests could help fight poachers
The atmospheric carbon left over from nuclear bomb testing could help scientists track poached ivory, new research has found.
These bomb tests changed the level of carbon in the atmosphere, which can be traced to date elephant tusks.
Trafficking poached ivory is increasingly being used to fund civil wars, groups warn.
Scientists say the findings, published in PNAS, could make it easier to enforce the ivory ban.
The number of elephants being poached is now at the highest it has been for two decades, according to a UN backed report.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23096068
Bomb-curve radiocarbon measurement of recent biologic tissues and applications to wildlife forensics and stable isotope (paleo)ecology
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/06/26/1302226110
