The Natural History of Bikini Atoll

Operation Crossroads, 1946, nuclear testing in Bikini Atoll, a paradise coral reef. In the years after WWII, the Marshall Islands’ remote Bikini Atoll experienced the most powerful nuclear tests that have ever been conducted. Between 1946 and 1958 the United States detonated a series of 23 at Bikini Atoll. These gave out combined fission of 42.2 Mt. The Bikini Atoll reef was decimated, and the marine life in the area destroyed. The blasts left behind the wreckage of more than 70 ships which sunk to the ocean floor. 60 years later, they remain. And life has reclaimed that which was destroyed. Coral reefs grow from the shipwrecks, and Bikini Atoll has become a paradise again, yet it is contaminated. The wrecks of planes and ships mark the wastes like gravestones, giving life to the new reef. It demonstrates the natural world's astouding ability to reclaim that which is lost, but it needs time in order to do so. We need to protect our oceans, and give it time to regenerate the lost biodiversity and habitat diversity caused by human impacts. As shown by the reclamation of Bikini Atoll, there is hope for the planet. Natural History of Chernobyl Documentary: https://youtu.be/1lRIxuWgou8 More from the Awareness Project: Marine Conservation | How to Protect Our Oceans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKrJ-GO4itk Footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIs1PZ_MmKM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DNn-oChfb8 Music: Composer: Whitesand (Martynas Lau) Year: 2017 Title: Eternity References and further reading: Brief history before atomic tests: https://www.bikiniatoll.com/history.html Marshall Islands history and culture: http://mistories.org/intro.php UNESCO designation: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1339/