debris or even be radioactive because of the activating effectsfof the
device's neutron output.
OCEANIC TESTING OPERATIONS
The implications of oceanic testing have only incidentally
marked upon.
These are now discussed, especially as they relatP
feen reto DOD
operations during CASTLE.
Marshall Islands Setting
The Marshall Islands are in the easternmost part of the ar
Micronesia ("tiny islands").
(2 million km”)
The Marshalls cover about 770 thdbsand mi?
of the Earth's surface but the total land area fis only
about 70 mi? (180 km?) .
Sunrise)
known as
Two parallel chains form the islands:
to the east, and Ralik
(or Sunset)
Ratak {or
to the west; both
Bikini are in the Ralik chain at its northern extreme.
Figure
these islands in the Central Pacific, Figure 2 is a map of Ene
and Figure 3 is a map of Bikini Atoll.
Typical atolls, Enewetak and Bikini are coral caps set on
fruncated,
submerged volcanic peaks that rise to considerable heights from
floor.
Coral and sand have gradually built up narrow islands
the ocean
Into a ring-
like formation with open ocean on the outside and a relatively[sSheltered
lagoon on the inside.
Both atolls have two passages, a wide p&ssage and a
deep one, that permit access to their lagoons from the sea.
has a third.
Epewetak also
All the islands are low-lying, with elevations sBidom over
20 feet (6 meters)
above high tide.
During nuclear testing, the more populated, support-orientEd sections
were the south and southeast areas of the atoll where the largpr islands
exist.
Devices were detonated on the northern islands and ov
ern reefs.
The western sections of the atoll were not involv
the northin test
activities except for limited use as instrumentation sites.
Elliptically shaped, Enewetak is approximately 550 nmi (14020 km)
southwest of Wake Island and 2,380 nmi
37
(4,410 km)
southwest off
Honolulu.