Book Description

The Pacific Enewetak Atoll Crater Exploration (PEACE) Program was established to resolve a number of questions for the Department of Defense (DOD) about the geologic and material-properties parameters of two craters (KOA and OAK), formed by near-surface bursts of high-yield thermonuclear devices on the northern margin of Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands, in 1958. The multidisciplinary studies conducted by the USGS in collaboration with other organizations during 1984 through 1987 wer part of a much larger research initiative by the DNA to better understand the dynamic properties of strategic-scale nuclear bursts and the relevance of the Pacific Proving Grounds (PPG) craters to issues of strategic basing and targeting of nuclear weapons. Major topics include: Borehole gravity; Palentologic evidence for mixing; Electron paramagnetic resonance studies; Bathymetric studies of OAK crater; Constraints on densification and piping for OAK; and Additional studies of geologic crater models. Keywords: Nuclear explosion testing; Cratering; Ocean bottom; Stratigraphy; Atolls; Surface burst; Barges; Borehole gravimetry; Sedimentary mixing. (EDC).