atoll

“The Aviator and the Showman” leaves no doubt about Earhart’s disappearance: She misjudged her gasoline reserves, panicked and crashed near tiny Howland atoll.

From 1952 and for the following 15 years, about 39,000 British and Commonwealth servicemen and scientists witnessed 45 atomic and hydrogen bombs, and hundreds of radioactive experiments, in the Australian Outback and Pacific atolls.

Despite wide interest in the global footprint of palm crops, the distribution of coconut palms across tropical Pacific atolls has received little attention.

Yet as coral reef ecologist Alexandra Dempsey explored the atolls’ beautiful coral reefs in 2015, she nevertheless found signs of human pollution.

This includes the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, used by the US government as a military base for its navy ships and long-range bomber aircraft.