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Acceptable patterns at Bikini and Eniwetok are es
fally only those which
contain little northerly component at all levels
for any substantial
margin of safety in preventing contamination of inhabited islands to the
east and southwest, must have some southerly component)
Perturbations in
the weather which provide these conditions at Bikini
Enivetok are not
long lived, and are not the dominant pattern.
Acceptable patterns at Taongi include the flat hodograph plus, in most

cases, the inverted S to the north or south.

In other words, it is possible

to always fire at Taongi on the stable long lived weather pattern while at
Eniwetok and Bikini, one cen use essentially only the short lived perturbations.

The Joint Task Force SEVEN Meteorological Center at Pearl Harbor has recently
published a report, under the direction of Commander Daniel A. Rex, USN.,

entitled "Climatology of Taongi".

This report was prepared to compare, from

a weather standpoint, the suitability of Taongi Atoll with the Eniwetok/

Bikini area as an atomic nuclear test site. This report has been studied in
detail at UCRL by Dr. A. Vay Shelton, and others, and although there is not
full agreement on the interpretations of Commander Rex's determinations,
there is no question that Taongi offers some advantages. Three 15 day periods

were analysed by the JIF 7 Group:

14 April - 28 April 1956 inclusive
11 June - 25 June 1956 inclusive
9 July

~- 23 July 1956 inclysive

These 45 daye embrace the period of firing activity at Bikini during Operation

Redwing. Hodographs for Taongi on each of the above days were interpolated
from analysed Redwing flow charts. Neglecting fallout computations and

space/time variation studies has led Commander Rex's staff to state:

"In summary, 32 days were judged to be satisfactory for shooting at

‘Taongi although local fallovt on the shot site would have been experfenced on 19 of these 32 days. During the same period, 7 days were

judged to be satisfactory for Bikini.“

Page 6 of the Joint Task Force Meteorological Center report states the following couclusions:
"a.

The local weather conditions at Taongi my be expected to be some-

what more favorable for air and test operations than at Eniwetok/

Bikini; i.e., less rainfall, decreased shower activity, stronger
and more constant surface tradewinds, etc.

"o.

The upper wind regimes at the two locations may be expected to be
essentially the same; f.e., predominately east-west. Because of
its more northerly latitude, stronger northerly components will
usually be observed in the upper westerlies at Taongi and the
strength of these upper vesterlies will prevail later into the
summer season, Variations from year to year may be expected to
affect doth locations in the same sense and approximtely the
sem extent.

atl
/o

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