H-Bomb

Island Disintegrated By

News that an atoll island in the Marshall group simply disintegrated and disappeared in flames after the Americans exploded their hydrogen bomb there in November, has awak ened fears in the minds of old voyagers in the Line Islands that atom bombs may completely destroy those structures.

Atolls are merely giant coral heads, built up in the course of ages by the coral insects, from rocks lying at great depths beneath the sea. It is recalled by Mr. Neville Chatfield, who knew the Line Islands 50 years ago, that, the famous Australian scientist, Sir Edgeworth David, wenl to Funafuti in 1899 with a steam driven drill, to ascertain the depth of a coral island. He put down a bore to about 3,000 feet, but failed to reach the basic rock—thus proving Dar win’s theory that as the sea rose, or the land subsided, the coral insects kept on building to sea-level. These coral structures are generally shaped like a mushroom, and probably could be shattered easily by an atomic blast.