Dryer, S., and Logan, A., 1978. Holocene reefs and sediments of
Castle Harbour, Bermuda. Journal of Marine Research, 36,
399–425.
Dodge, R. E., Logan, A., and Antonius, A., 1982. Quantitative
reef assessment studies in Bermuda: a comparison of methods
and preliminary results. Bulletin of Marine Science, 32,
745–760.
Flood, V. S., Pitt, J. M., and Smith, S. R., 2005. Historical and ecological analysis of coral communities in Castle Harbour
(Bermuda) after more than a century of environmental perturbation. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 51, 545–557.
Garrett, P., and Scoffin, T. P., 1977. Sedimentation on Bermuda’s
atoll rim. Proceedings of the 3rd International Coral Reef Symposium, Miami, Florida, 2, 87–95.
Jones, R. J., 2007. Chemical contamination of a coral reef by the
grounding of a cruise ship in Bermuda. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 54, 905–911.
Jones, R. J., 2008. Environmental effects of sewage disposal practices in Bermuda. Abstract, Proceedings of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium. Florida: Fort Lauderdale.
Logan, A., 1988. The Holocene Reefs of Bermuda. Sedimenta XI.
Miami: Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science,
University of Miami, 63 pp.
Logan, A., 1992. Reefs, pp. 31–68. In Thomas, M. L. H., and
Logan, A. (eds.), A guide to the Ecology of Shoreline and
Shallow-Water Marine Communities of Bermuda. Bermuda
Biological Station for Research, Special Publication, Vol. 30,
pp. 27–68.
Logan, A., 1998. The high-latitude coral reefs of Bermuda: characteristics and comparisons. In Viera Rodriguez, M. A., and
Haroun, R. (eds.), Proceedings of the Second Symposium of
Fauna and Flora of the Atlantic Islands, Las Palmas de Gran
Canaria, 1996. Boletim do Museu Municipal do Funchal. suppl.
5, pp. 187–197.
Meischner, D., and Meischner, U., 1977. Bermuda south shore reef
morphology – a preliminary report. Proceedings of the Third
International Coral Reef Symposium, Miami, Florida, 2,
243–250.
Murdoch, T. J. T., 2007. A Functional Group Approach for
Predicting the Composition of Hard Coral Assemblages in Florida and Bermuda. University of South Alabama, 326 pp.
Smith, S. R., 1992. Patterns of coral recruitment and post-settlement
mortality on Bermuda's reefs: comparisons to Caribbean and
Pacific reefs. American Zoologist, 32(6), 663–673.
Thomas, M. L. H., and Stevens, J., 1991. Communities of constructional lips and cup reef rims in Bermuda. Coral Reefs, 9,
225–230.
Online sites (URLs)
Bermuda Reef Ecosystem Assessment and Mapping Programme
(BREAM): http://www.bermudabream.org
Bermuda Zoological Society’s aerial mosaic of Bermuda’s reef platform, hosted by LookBermuda: http://www.lookbermuda.com/
PhotoMap/800x600.html
Marine Environmental Program (MEP) at Bermuda Institute of
Ocean Sciences (BIOS): http://www.bios-mep.info
Cross-references
Acropora
Antecedent Platforms
Atolls
Forereef/Reef Front
Geomorphic Zonation
Patch Reefs: Lidar Morphometric Analysis
BIKINI ATOLL, MARSHALL ISLANDS
James E. Maragos
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Honolulu, HI, USA
Definition
Bikini Atoll lies in the northern Marshall Islands in the
central Pacific. It is 694 km
2 with a perimeter of 122
km. Its central lagoon is up to >30 m deep. There were
originally 25 islands on the rim but several of these were
destroyed by the Nuclear testing carried out on the Atoll
in the 1950s.
Introduction
The Marshall Islands archipelago consists of 29 atolls and
five isolated reef islands with a combined total of 1,136
low reef islets, 174 km
2 of land areas, 13,000 km
2 of
lagoon areas, and 2,600 km of reef circumferences. As
a whole, the Marshall Islands are located in Micronesia,
situated at the east of the Mariana Islands, northeast of
the Caroline Islands, and northwest of the Gilbert Islands
(Figure 1). The Marshall Is. support the oldest and largest
atolls in the Pacific and the world and consist of two northwest to southeast trending ridges, the Ralik to the west
and Ratak to the east, each with separate atolls, islands,
cultural lineages, and traditional leadership. Bikini Atoll
(11
37
0 N and 165
23
0 E) is at the north end of the western
chain, with its closest neighbors Enewetak and Ujelang
atolls lying 150–200 km to the west, and Rongelap and
Ailinginae Atolls 50 km to the east.
Bikini is a rectangular atoll, with its long axis being
46 km from east to west, and varying from 15 to 19 km
along the north–south axis (Figure 2). The combined reef
and lagoon area of the atoll is 694 km
2
, total land area is
about 6 km
2
, and total perimeter reef circumference is
122 km. Bikini consisted of 25 islands until two and a half
of them were destroyed by the hydrogen bomb “Bravo”
test in 1954. Overall, Bikini Atoll ranks tenth in terms
of total reef and lagoon area and 11th in terms of
land area among the Marshall Islands. Bikini lies in the
northern arid Marshall Islands and supports less vegetation, groundwater, rainfall (1450 mm per year), and
human populations compared to those in the central and
southern Marshall Islands. However, rainfall is highly variable ranging from 600 to 2,400 mm per year. Surface
ocean water temperatures normally range from 25 to
29
C per year.
Physical environment
Bikini’s low coral islets are 3–4 m above the mean sea
level and concentrated on the east and southwest rims of
the atoll. The western and northeast rims emerge at low
tide but are nearly devoid of islets. The largest islet, Bikini
(2.14 km
2 ) is at the northeast corner of the atoll, and the
four next largest islets in descending size are Eneu (Enyu)
BIKINI ATOLL, MARSHALL ISLANDS
123
Castle Harbour, Bermuda. Journal of Marine Research, 36,
399–425.
Dodge, R. E., Logan, A., and Antonius, A., 1982. Quantitative
reef assessment studies in Bermuda: a comparison of methods
and preliminary results. Bulletin of Marine Science, 32,
745–760.
Flood, V. S., Pitt, J. M., and Smith, S. R., 2005. Historical and ecological analysis of coral communities in Castle Harbour
(Bermuda) after more than a century of environmental perturbation. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 51, 545–557.
Garrett, P., and Scoffin, T. P., 1977. Sedimentation on Bermuda’s
atoll rim. Proceedings of the 3rd International Coral Reef Symposium, Miami, Florida, 2, 87–95.
Jones, R. J., 2007. Chemical contamination of a coral reef by the
grounding of a cruise ship in Bermuda. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 54, 905–911.
Jones, R. J., 2008. Environmental effects of sewage disposal practices in Bermuda. Abstract, Proceedings of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium. Florida: Fort Lauderdale.
Logan, A., 1988. The Holocene Reefs of Bermuda. Sedimenta XI.
Miami: Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science,
University of Miami, 63 pp.
Logan, A., 1992. Reefs, pp. 31–68. In Thomas, M. L. H., and
Logan, A. (eds.), A guide to the Ecology of Shoreline and
Shallow-Water Marine Communities of Bermuda. Bermuda
Biological Station for Research, Special Publication, Vol. 30,
pp. 27–68.
Logan, A., 1998. The high-latitude coral reefs of Bermuda: characteristics and comparisons. In Viera Rodriguez, M. A., and
Haroun, R. (eds.), Proceedings of the Second Symposium of
Fauna and Flora of the Atlantic Islands, Las Palmas de Gran
Canaria, 1996. Boletim do Museu Municipal do Funchal. suppl.
5, pp. 187–197.
Meischner, D., and Meischner, U., 1977. Bermuda south shore reef
morphology – a preliminary report. Proceedings of the Third
International Coral Reef Symposium, Miami, Florida, 2,
243–250.
Murdoch, T. J. T., 2007. A Functional Group Approach for
Predicting the Composition of Hard Coral Assemblages in Florida and Bermuda. University of South Alabama, 326 pp.
Smith, S. R., 1992. Patterns of coral recruitment and post-settlement
mortality on Bermuda's reefs: comparisons to Caribbean and
Pacific reefs. American Zoologist, 32(6), 663–673.
Thomas, M. L. H., and Stevens, J., 1991. Communities of constructional lips and cup reef rims in Bermuda. Coral Reefs, 9,
225–230.
Online sites (URLs)
Bermuda Reef Ecosystem Assessment and Mapping Programme
(BREAM): http://www.bermudabream.org
Bermuda Zoological Society’s aerial mosaic of Bermuda’s reef platform, hosted by LookBermuda: http://www.lookbermuda.com/
PhotoMap/800x600.html
Marine Environmental Program (MEP) at Bermuda Institute of
Ocean Sciences (BIOS): http://www.bios-mep.info
Cross-references
Acropora
Antecedent Platforms
Atolls
Forereef/Reef Front
Geomorphic Zonation
Patch Reefs: Lidar Morphometric Analysis
BIKINI ATOLL, MARSHALL ISLANDS
James E. Maragos
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Honolulu, HI, USA
Definition
Bikini Atoll lies in the northern Marshall Islands in the
central Pacific. It is 694 km
2 with a perimeter of 122
km. Its central lagoon is up to >30 m deep. There were
originally 25 islands on the rim but several of these were
destroyed by the Nuclear testing carried out on the Atoll
in the 1950s.
Introduction
The Marshall Islands archipelago consists of 29 atolls and
five isolated reef islands with a combined total of 1,136
low reef islets, 174 km
2 of land areas, 13,000 km
2 of
lagoon areas, and 2,600 km of reef circumferences. As
a whole, the Marshall Islands are located in Micronesia,
situated at the east of the Mariana Islands, northeast of
the Caroline Islands, and northwest of the Gilbert Islands
(Figure 1). The Marshall Is. support the oldest and largest
atolls in the Pacific and the world and consist of two northwest to southeast trending ridges, the Ralik to the west
and Ratak to the east, each with separate atolls, islands,
cultural lineages, and traditional leadership. Bikini Atoll
(11
37
0 N and 165
23
0 E) is at the north end of the western
chain, with its closest neighbors Enewetak and Ujelang
atolls lying 150–200 km to the west, and Rongelap and
Ailinginae Atolls 50 km to the east.
Bikini is a rectangular atoll, with its long axis being
46 km from east to west, and varying from 15 to 19 km
along the north–south axis (Figure 2). The combined reef
and lagoon area of the atoll is 694 km
2
, total land area is
about 6 km
2
, and total perimeter reef circumference is
122 km. Bikini consisted of 25 islands until two and a half
of them were destroyed by the hydrogen bomb “Bravo”
test in 1954. Overall, Bikini Atoll ranks tenth in terms
of total reef and lagoon area and 11th in terms of
land area among the Marshall Islands. Bikini lies in the
northern arid Marshall Islands and supports less vegetation, groundwater, rainfall (1450 mm per year), and
human populations compared to those in the central and
southern Marshall Islands. However, rainfall is highly variable ranging from 600 to 2,400 mm per year. Surface
ocean water temperatures normally range from 25 to
29
C per year.
Physical environment
Bikini’s low coral islets are 3–4 m above the mean sea
level and concentrated on the east and southwest rims of
the atoll. The western and northeast rims emerge at low
tide but are nearly devoid of islets. The largest islet, Bikini
(2.14 km
2 ) is at the northeast corner of the atoll, and the
four next largest islets in descending size are Eneu (Enyu)
BIKINI ATOLL, MARSHALL ISLANDS
123