Road home

1996/05/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Zoologia

Sea turtles return to the beaches where they were born to spawn. Even if they are hundreds or sometimes thousands of kilometers away, they find their way home. Scientists have been able to learn how they unfold in these long journeys: sea turtles use the magnetic fields surrounding the Earth to return home.

To travel the oceans use the magnetic map of both coordinates, intensity and angles of magnetic inclinations. The “neurological compass” allows to detect changes in intensity and inclination that occur in magnetic fields and redefine their position with respect to the Earth. Sea turtles do not need traffic signals and find the way home without making a mistake. We all have a lot to learn from it.