Bikini Atoll

The Bikini Atoll is a now uninhabited atoll within the Marshall Islands. Between 1946 and 1958, the United States military conducted more than 20 nuclear weapons tests on and around the atoll. The indigenous population was relocated to neighboring Rongerik Atoll prior to the beginning of tests. Some islanders were enrolled in a medical experiment organized by the United States to test the effects of exposure to large amounts of radiation, and many natives have died as a result of radiation related illnesses.

The Bikini Atoll was also ship graveyard for the United States during World War II. Due to the large variety of sunken ships and an abundance of sea life that has developed since fishing in the area stopped, the atoll has become an increasingly popular destination for scuba divers. In April of 2008 a team of research divers announced that the coral reefs of the Bikini Atoll, which had been destroyed by nuclear explosions, had made a remarkable recovery. The discovery provided a significant new opinion of the resilience of coral reefs.

On March 1, 1954, the United States conducted the first test of a hydrogen bomb on Bikini Atoll. The explosion was larger than scientists had predicted, and the resulting radiation decimated life on the surrounding islands.

• Google News: Bikini Atoll
• ABC News: Coral Reefs Can Survive Nuclear Explosion: Researchers (April 16, 2008)
• Reuters: Coral Flourishing at Bikini Atoll Atomic Test Site (April 15, 2008)
  • "Richards said the ability of Bikini's corals to bounce back from 'a single huge destructive event' was proof of their resilience, although that did not mean the threat to corals from Climate Change had been overestimated."
• The Age (Australia): Corals Flourishing on Bikini Atoll (April 15, 2008)