Nuked Coral Reef Bounces Back

sm62704 writes "I found this New Scientist article interesting, as I was actually alive (albeit very small) when Bikini Atoll was H-bombed. The article says that the reason the reefs are now flourishing is because they are mostly undisturbed by humans, who are afraid of the radiation. Background levels there are now 'similar to that at any Australian city,' while nearby islands haven't been so lucky.'When I put the Geiger counter near a coconut, which accumulates radioactive material from the soil, it went berserk,' says Maria Beger of the University of Queensland in Australia."

Better article and detail

[tick-tock-atona]

More informative article here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415101021.htm [sciencedaily.com]

The full story is that although some of the corals have bounced back remarkably, the nuking has also resulted in the localised extinction of some more sensitive sensitive species

However the research has also revealed a disturbingly high level of loss of coral species from the atoll. Compared with a famous study made before the atomic tests were carried out, the team established that 42 species were missing compared to the early 1950s. At least 28 of these species losses appear to be genuine local extinctions probably due to the 23 bombs that were exploded there from 1946-58, or the resulting radioactivity, increased nutrient levels and smothering from fine sediments.

Article also has some good stats on the nuking itself:

One of the most interesting aspects is that the team dived into the vast Bravo Crater left in 1954 by the most powerful American atom bomb ever exploded (15 megatonnes - a thousand times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb). The Bravo bomb vapourised three islands, raised water temperatures to 55,000 degrees, shook islands 200 kilometers away and left a crater 2km wide and 73m deep.

Re:Well, yes and no

[jrumney]

The real problem is the recent round of nuclear build-out. These countries do not have the maturity to handle these. Basically, Turkey and Pakistan.

Turkey? The only nuclear weapons on Turkish soil are the ones stored at the USAF base at Inçirlik.

Bikini

[mi]

Bikini Atoll, that everyone decided to change the name "Bikini" to "Freedom suit."

The term "bikini" had no other meaning back then. The suit you are referring to was so named because of the bomb-testing — a stroke of a marketing genious. I must admit, it is quite rare to find a slashdot-poster less informed than a musician:

Aim for the body rare, you'll see it on TV
The worst thing in 1954 was the Bikini
See the girl on the TV dressed in a Bikini
She doesn't think so but she's dressed for the H-Bomb

by Gang of Four [musicsonglyrics.com].

Re:Radiation induced changes to coconuts

[Nursie]

I don't think you'll find any coral at all resisted that, but that the area was re-colonised by corals from a little further afield.

Re:Bikini

[ZmeiGorynych]

Sorry man, but this 'fun fact' is really common knowledge...

Re:berserk?

[SirSmiley]

X-COM: UFO Defence for the win =)

Yet another strange place to put a link

[verin]

This is an example of the linking in slashdot that drives me crazy.

In this:
I found this New Scientist article interesting, as I was actually alive (albeit very small) when Bikini Atoll was H-bombed. The article says that the reason the reefs are now flourishing is..

Why is 'Bikini Atoll was H-bombed' linked, which would mean that clicking on it would lead to information about the bombing?

Why isn't 'this New Scientist article' or even 'The article says' the linked words?

In slashdot entries with a number of links, I can rarely tell what to click on, because of inane references like this.

Re:Bikini

[Anonymous Coward]

Awesome... Except that you're wrong. The US Government didn't name the F'ing bikini...

http://www.swimsuit-style.com/bikini.html

Re:You joke, but ...

[Sleepy]

What the other poster said about topping off, and salts.

You can irrigate, but you also need rainfall once in a while (or you need really cheap energy and good desalination and demineralization such that you're not just watering plants, but spraying the soil slowly and without saturating the soil). If you constantly flood using irrigation, you cause salts to rise to the surface and ruin the soil.

The Soviet Union destroyed entire nations through bad irrigation policy, turning semi-arid soil into desert. You can find it in Wikipedia under man made disasters.

Re:Bikini

[Curien]

What part of any curriculum is that information in?

It was in my high school US history book.

Re:That may happen

[Firethorn]

and the increased cancer risk that comes with eating it is minor, and irrelevant.

This. One of the fun things back in HS was to take the radiation detector to various common items. Heck, Brazil Nuts, Lima Beans, and Bananas are radioactive. So aren't carrots and potatoes. Potassium, an essential nutrient is radioactive.

An extra dose of radiation doesn't mean that somebody is going to die from cancer. It all depends on the dose.

rather than lengthening the life expectancy of a few unlucky individuals by a matter of days on average.

Unless the individual is making said radioactive coconuts a staple of their diet; I'd say minutes is more likely.

Re:Radiation induced changes to coconuts

[Firethorn]

These species display no visible deformations, and continue to breed and live undisturbed by humans.

Well, to be fair, I'll mention that one study involving birds found that the chicks of birds nesting in the sarcophagus had double the expected deformity rate over birds nesting outside of Chernobyl.

Given that a number of the bird species are the ones where the chicks gradually push out the others such that only one survives out of a laying of 2-6 eggs, the effect of the extra deformities was essentially noise, statistically insignificant to the species.

Re:Oblig:

[sm62704]

Not a lot of airplay, these youngsters won't know the reference. Lyrics:

ARTIST: Harry Nilsson
TITLE: Coconut

Brother bought a coconut, he bought it for a dime
His sister had another one, she paid it for the lime

She put the lime in the coconut, she drank 'em both up
Put the lime in the coconut, she called the doctor, woke him up, and said

Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take, I said
Doctor, to relieve this bellyache, I said
Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take, I said
Doctor, to relieve this bellyache

Now let me get this straight
Put the lime in the coconut, you drank 'em both up
Put the lime in the coconut, you called your doctor, woke him up, and said

Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take, I said
Doctor, to relieve this bellyache, I said
Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take, I said
Doctor, to relieve this bellyache

You put the lime in the coconut, you drink 'em both together
Put the lime in the coconut, then you feel better
Put the lime in the coconut, drink 'em both up
Put the lime in the coconut, and call me in the morning

Brother bought a coconut, he bought it for a dime
His sister had another one, she paid it for the lime
She put the lime in the coconut, she drank 'em both up
Put the lime in the coconut, she called the doctor, woke him up, and said

Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take, I said
Doctor, to relieve this bellyache, I said
Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take, I said
Now let me get this straight

You put the lime in the coconut, you drink 'em both up
Put the lime in the coconut, you're such a silly woman

Put the lime in the coconut, you drink 'em both together
Put the lime in the coconut, then you feel better
Put the lime in the coconut, drink 'em both down
Put the lime in the coconut, and call me in the morning

Woo-oo, ain't there nothin' you can take, I said
Woo-oo, to relieve your bellyache, you said
Woo-oo, ain't there nothin' I can take, I said
Woo-oo, to relieve your bellyache, you say

Yeah-ah, ain't there nothing I can take, I say
Wow-ow, to relieve this bellyache, I said
Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take, I said
Doctor, you're such a silly woman

Put the lime in the coconut, you drink 'em both together
Put the lime in the coconut, then you feel better
Put the lime in the coconut, drink 'em both up
Put the lime in the coconut, and call me in the mo-o-ornin'

Yes, you call me in the morning
If you call me in the morning I'll tell you what to do

John Lennon reportedly said the Harry Nillson was his favorite band.

Re:Radiation induced changes to coconuts

[jollyreaper]

Look up what's going on around Chernobyl at the moment.

Whilst humans can't go anywhere near it, or the town of Pripyat, many species of plant and animals have flourished in the 30-odd years since the infamous meltdown. These species display no visible deformations, and continue to breed and live undisturbed by humans.

The thing they're still not sure on is how much of the wildlife is actually reproducing in the area and how much is infill from surrounding territories. They've yet to see the birds with speckled albino feathers make it back from a migration.

While I think that the recovery of Chernobyl is astounding and certainly flies in the face of what everyone expected, I don't know if the bounceback after a global nuclear war would be quite so quick.

Of course, the thing that people tend to overlook is that the planet is capable of surviving quite a bit of trauma. We may not survive, but the planet will do fine. That's the thing that so many environmental skeptics fail to grasp, the human race will break before the planet does.

Re:vacation

[sm62704]

Since 2000 the annual numbers of AIDS diagnoses have been relatively constant, with an estimated 37,852 in 2006 [avert.org]. That's people DIAGNOSED, not deaths.

Some 43,443 people were killed on the highways in 2005 [usatoday.com].

Meanwhile, 559,312 people who died from cancer. [avert.org] Cancer is only the second biggest killer, heart disease kills more people of ALL races. More black people die of cancer than all races combined die of AIDS.

HIV is comparitively a very minor threat, even to minorities, compared to other dangers. If you're talking about dangers to minorities you should be talking about incarceration, as a disproportionate number of our prisoners (more per capita than any other country) are minorities.