CHAPTER 3 | THE MIKE TEST 3.2 INtRODUCTION | “ -The most powerful man-made explosion known to have taken place ‘was detonated at 1915 GCT, 31 October 1952. The entire stoll on - which the experiment was conducted disappeared and is part of the debris. The stem was many miles wide while the mushroom was reported to be 60 miles in diamster at stabilization. ‘Despite elaborate efforts to ascertain the cloud height, there is still considerable doubt in some circles concerning the maximum elevation reached by the bulk of the cloud. ‘he report issued by Dr. Palmer, a noted meteorologist who observed the test from a ship thirty miles south of the ground zero, stated that the maximum height of the bulk of the debris was only a few thousand Leet above ths tropopause. Theodolite measurements from that same ship and from adjacent naval vessels indicate much higher elevations. It appears, however, that the most reliable estimates of the cloud . height resulted from saxtant observations taken from aircraft, which placed the base of the huge mushroom between 70,000: and haunt aio 80,000 feet and the top between 120,000 and 130,000 feet. . 3.2 UPPER WINDS AT TIME OF MIKE Figure 3.1 shows the upper wind observations made at Eniwetok before and after the MIKE test, along with the estimated winds at burst time derived from meteorological analysis. The trade winds extended to about 25,000 feet at detonation, but were from the eastsoutheast instead of the normal eastnortheast, due to a meteorological disturbance in the Marshall Island area. In the upper troposphere winds were from the south while at the base of the stratosphere (about 56,000 feet) the direction was again easterly with increased speed. The speeds diminish with increasing eleva-~ tion in the stratosphere with evidence suggesting the winds at the top of the mushroom were from a westerly quadrant. . 3.3 . DISPERSION OF THE MIKE CLOW ‘She motion of MIKE atomic cloud has been reconstructed on the basis of all available radiological data and meteorological analyses. -12- @