Nuked Reefs Bounce Back
What happens when you nuke a coral reef several times? It grows back. It just takes a while. This interesting article takes a look at the Bikini Atolls 50 years after the USA tested some 23 nukes in the area. Something you'd think would cause the area to glow for a long time.
The interesting thing is that the reef grew back. About 65% of the wildlife has returned and is in excellent shape. Partially because people are still quite afraid to go there. The only visitors these days are the occasional SCUBA diver visiting ship wrecks. The picture below (stolen from Power Boat World) was taken at the center of one of the blast craters.
With any luck people will continue to stay away and the reef will continue to grow. I personally would to dive the area. I'm told the ship wrecks, which were sank during the nuclear testing, are amazing to see. With any luck someone will come up with the idea of doing diving at the reef in the future.
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