Bikini Scientific Resurvey, 1947

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Description

The Bikini Scientific Resurvey was an expedition conducted under the auspices of the Department of the Navy aboard four vessels including the USS Chilton, July - August 1947. The Expedition included approximately sixty scientists and staff from US Geological Survey, Fish and Wildlife Service, US National Museum, and the Atomic Energy Commission as well as other research institutions. Scientists studied fish populations on the reefs and in the tidal zone of the Marshall Islands before and after the dropping of experimental atomic bombs. Specimens were collected for the purpose of determining the effect of atomic bomb tests of the previous year as well as possible long-range effects on animal and plant life in the immediate area. Participants included Leonard P. Shultz, Joseph P. E. Morrison, and Frederick M. Bayer of the US National Museum. The expedition made independent studies of the other animal life of the area and obtained plant and animal specimens for the US National Museum.

Source

  • (1947). The National Academy of Sciences: Abstracts of Papers Presented at 1947 Autumn Meeting. Science. 106 (2761) 505-513. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1674531
  • Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. (2012). Celebrating 100 Years: The Bikini Atoll Survey "Operation Crossroads," 1946-47 Retrieved from http://www.mnh.si.edu/onehundredyears/expeditions/bikini.html

Date Range

1947 - 1947

Topic

  • Atomic bomb
  • Ichthyology

Place

Marshall Islands

Form/Genre

Expedition name