Bikini is 189 nmi about 2.7 mimiles (7 (40.2 km) about 200 feet km?) (350 km) east of Enewetak. Its islands cpnsist of is 25 of surface area and encircle a lagoon thak long and 15 miles (61 meters). (24.1 km) wide, with a maximu n depth of The land area is concentrated in t he eastern islands, from Bikini to Eneu islands, which form about 53 perce nt of the land total, with 24 percent taken up by the southern section of Enidrik to Aeroko}. the The detonation area in the north occupies about 19 p cent of land area. The climate of Enewetak and Bikini is tropical marine, gen and humid. to 32°C) . Temperature changes are slight, ranging from 70° ¢ Rainfall is moderate, and prolonged droughts may oc ally warm 90°F (21° r. of both atolls is open ocean for a thousand miles, with the on island being Wake. theless, Storms are infrequent, although typhoons both wind and sea are continuous erosional agents. sible at any time, most tropical storms occur from September tq North inhabited ur; neverthough posDecember. Much cumulus cloud cover exists in the area. The Enewetak-Bikini region incorporates three basic wind s' stems. The northeast trade winds extend from the surface to 25,000 to 30, 00 feet (7.6 to 9.1 km), the upper westerlies from the top of the trad s to the base of the tropopause at 55,000 to 60,000 feet (16.8 to 18.3 im), Krakatoa easterlies from the tropopause up into the stratosphe e. and the These systems are all basically east-to-west or west-to-east current day changes reflect the relatively small north-south component, which are markedly variable. Greatest variation occurs in the upper wesferlies, particularly during late summer and fall. The steady northeast trade winds in the lower levels caus the water at the surface of the lagoons to flow from northeast to south st, it sinks to the bottom and returns along the lower levels of e Lagoons, rising to the surface along the eastern are of the reefs and lands, where it is moved by the winds to the southwest again. where The lapoon waters 41 At