302 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1947 



among aquatic life ; hundreds of dead and dying fish were seen floating 

 in the lagoon waters shortly after and for a few days. Great quan- 

 tities of oil were released from the stricken ships. It floated and was 

 driven by the wind onto coral and algal growths, smearing shellfish 

 and echinoderms on the reefs, causing additional mortality of organ- 

 isms in limited areas. 



BIOLOGICAL EXPEDITIONS TO BIKINI 



Under the direction of Commander Roger Revelle, U. S. N. R., and 

 Lt. Comdr. Clifford A. Barnes, U. S. C. G. R., an expedititon sailed 

 from San Francisco in February 1946 on the U. S. S. Bowditch, 

 returning to the United States in September. Assembled on this ship 

 were numerous scientists representing the fields of biology, oceanog- 

 raphy, and geology. It was the purpose of this group to map and 

 study Bikini AtoU in a thorough manner before the explosions so that 

 if the atomic bombs caused any profound changes these might be 

 detected. As control atolls, extensive biological studies were made at 

 Rongelap, Rongerik, and Eniwetok in the northern Marshall Islands. 



A second expedition, the Bikini Scientific Resurvey, left San Diego 

 July 1, 1947, on board the U. S. S. Chilton for the purpose of deter- 

 mining changes that had occurred as a result of the Crossroads Opera- 

 tion of 1946. This resurvey, made under the direction of Capt. C. L. 

 Engleman, U. S. N., returned on September 11 to San Diego. 



The biological field work in the northern Marshall Islands consisted 

 of making extensive collections of the flora and fauna, and of taking 

 statistical samples of the populations of the marine animals. 



The botanical studies were made by Dr. William R. Taylor, Uni- 

 versity of Michigan, during 1946. In 1947 the physiology of aquatic 

 plants was undertaken by Drs. L. R. Blinks and P. M. Brooks, Stanford 

 University, California. The marine invertebrates were studied by Dr. 

 J. P. E. Morrison and F. M. Bayer of the Smithsonian Institution, 

 Washington, D. C. During July and August 1947, Dr. D. M. Wliit- 

 aker, Stanford University, made special studies on the echinoderms ; 

 Dr. A. C. Cole, University of Tennessee, on the insects ; and Dr. Robert 

 W. Hiatt, University of Hawaii, on the food of fishes. Dr. M. W. 

 Johnson, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, made extensive col- 

 lections of plankton, and Dr. D. B. Johnstone, New Jersey Agriculture 

 Experimental Station, studied the microbiology of Bikini during 1946. 

 The geology of Bikini and other Marshall Islands was studied by 

 Dr. Harry S. Ladd, Dr. J. Harlan Johnson, Joshua I. Tracey, of the 

 United States Geological Survey, aided by Dr. John W. Wells, Ohio 

 State University, and Gordon G. Lill, Office of Naval Research, Geo- 

 physics Branch. Dr. K. O. Emery, University of Southern California, 

 mapped the bottom geology of Bikini. The 2,556-foot deep hole was 



