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