the energy release from atomic devices.
was the most thoroughly documented,
it was explained,
unquestionably,
reported and publicized
peace-time military exercise in history.
necessary,
This,
The tests were
to determine the effects of
atomic blasts on naval vessels.
The tests at Bikini Atoll
brought to bear virtually the entire range of scientific
disciplines,
Bikini Atoll is in the classic atoll configuration.
The
outer rim of islets surrounds alagoon about twenty-six miles
long from east to west,
south.
and fifteen miles wide from north to
In area the lagoon covers about two hundred and
forty-three square miles.
INiles.
The land area totals about 3.4 square
The islands are low,
only eight to twelve feet high,
except for a few domes that are slightly higher.
Bikini Atoll and,
subsequently,
The lagoon of
the lagoon of Eniwetok Atoll
provided excellent partially-enclosed basins in which the
cycling, biological uptake,
and decline of the radionuclides
produced by the blasts might be studied.
Donaldson
(1959)
summarized the radiobiological studies.
Little or no time is lost between steps in the
biological cycling of materials for there is not only
an abundance of organisms but also a wide variety of
species--some 700 among the fishes alone
(Schultz et al.
(1953))--so that whatever is not utilized by one is