You might remember (if old enough) or at least remember hearing about the Bikini Atoll H-Bomb tests in the 1950s, where three islands were vapourised by the Bravo hydrogen bomb as part of a whole battery of tests occurring during the early years of the cold war. (More recently, French nuclear tests continued in the South Pacific's Moruroa atoll, albeit underground if I recall.)
New Scientist is carrying an article that shows something interesting, that the coral reef in the area seems to have recovered extremely well and is doing quite nicely thank you. From the article, "Richards and colleagues report a thriving ecosystem of 183 species of coral, some of which were 8 metres high. They estimate that the diversity of species represents about 65% of what was present before the atomic test". The main reason put forward for the recovery is the fact that the radiation has kept us humans away from the place, a far more destructive force on the environment than a mere H-Bomb. They do note that the surface ecology hasn't fared so well, but certainly the recovery observed seems at variance with what was expected against the backdrop of radiation levels measured there.
If you're interested, see New Scientist.
Labels: environment, science
