All Topics  
Kure Atoll

 
Kure Atoll

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Kure Atoll
 
 
  Topics Kure Atoll Topic Home

Kure Atoll or Ocean Island (Hawaiian
Hawaiian language

The Hawaiian language is an Austronesian languages that takes its name from Hawaii , the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed....
: Mokupapapa) lies some beyond Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll

Midway Atoll is a 2.4 square mile atoll located in the North Pacific Ocean , about one-third of the way between Honolulu and Tokyo. Midway Atoll is an unorganized territory, unincorporated territory of the United States....
 in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of 19 islands and atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll....
 at . The International Date Line
International Date Line

The International Date Line is an imaginary line on the surface of the Earth opposite the Prime Meridian where the date changes as one travels east or west across it....
 lies approximately 100 miles (87 nmi/160 km) to the west. Kure is the northern-most coral atoll
Atoll

An atoll is an island of coral that encircles a lagoon partially or completely....
 in the world. It consists of a 6-mile (10 km) wide nearly circular barrier reef
Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a Rock , bar , or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water .Many reefs result from abiotic processes?deposition of sand, wave erosion planning down rock outcrops, and other natural processes?but the best-known reefs are the coral reefs of tropical waters developed through biotic processes do...
 surrounding a shallow lagoon and several sand islet
Islet

File:Mokolea Rock 2.jpgAn islet is a small island....
s. The only land of significant size is called Green Island and is habitat for hundreds of thousands of seabirds.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Kure Atoll'
Start a new discussion about 'Kure Atoll'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Kure Atoll or Ocean Island (Hawaiian
Hawaiian language

The Hawaiian language is an Austronesian languages that takes its name from Hawaii , the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed....
: Mokupapapa) lies some beyond Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll

Midway Atoll is a 2.4 square mile atoll located in the North Pacific Ocean , about one-third of the way between Honolulu and Tokyo. Midway Atoll is an unorganized territory, unincorporated territory of the United States....
 in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of 19 islands and atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll....
 at . The International Date Line
International Date Line

The International Date Line is an imaginary line on the surface of the Earth opposite the Prime Meridian where the date changes as one travels east or west across it....
 lies approximately 100 miles (87 nmi/160 km) to the west. Kure is the northern-most coral atoll
Atoll

An atoll is an island of coral that encircles a lagoon partially or completely....
 in the world. It consists of a 6-mile (10 km) wide nearly circular barrier reef
Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a Rock , bar , or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water .Many reefs result from abiotic processes?deposition of sand, wave erosion planning down rock outcrops, and other natural processes?but the best-known reefs are the coral reefs of tropical waters developed through biotic processes do...
 surrounding a shallow lagoon and several sand islet
Islet

File:Mokolea Rock 2.jpgAn islet is a small island....
s. The only land of significant size is called Green Island and is habitat for hundreds of thousands of seabirds. There is a total land area of , with Green Island having of this total.

Geological history


The geological history of Kure follows generally the description provided in the article on Midway
Midway Atoll

Midway Atoll is a 2.4 square mile atoll located in the North Pacific Ocean , about one-third of the way between Honolulu and Tokyo. Midway Atoll is an unorganized territory, unincorporated territory of the United States....
, but Kure lies close to what is called the Darwin Point, the latitude at which reef growth just equals reef destruction by various physical forces. As Kure continues to be slowly carried along to the northwest by the motion of the Pacific Plate
Plate tectonics

Plate tectonics describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere. The theory encompasses the older concepts of continental drift, developed during the first decades of the 20th century by Alfred Wegener, and seafloor spreading, understood during the 1960s....
, it will move into waters too cool for coral
Coral

Corals are marine organisms from the class Anthozoa and exist as small sea anemone?like polyps, typically in colonies of many identical individuals....
 and coralline algae
Algae

Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms. The largest and most complex marine forms are called seaweeds....
 growth to keep up with isostatic
Isostasy

Isostasy is a term used in geology to refer to the state of gravity equilibrium between the earth's lithosphere and asthenosphere such that the tectonic plates "float" at an elevation which depends on their thickness and density....
 subsidence of the mountain. Barring unforeseen evolution or global warming
Global warming

Global warming is the increase in the Instrumental temperature record of the Earth's near-surface air and the oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation....
, it will then begin to join the other volcanic and reef-topped remnants of the Hawaiian-Emperor Chain to the northwest, all of which are now seamount
Seamount

A seamount is a mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the water's surface , and thus is not an island. These are typically formed from extinct volcanoes, that rise abruptly and are usually found rising from a seafloor of 1,000?4,000 meters depth....
s.

Human exploration and use


Before the mid-19th century, Kure Atoll was visited by several ships and given new names each time. Many crews were stranded on Kure Atoll after being shipwrecked on the surrounding reefs and had to survive on the local seals, turtles, and birds. The shipwrecks remain on the reef today, including the . Because of these incidents King Kalakaua sent Colonel J. H. Boyd as his Special Commissioner to Kure. On September 20, 1886 he took possession of the island, then called Moku Papapa, for the Hawaiian government. The King ordered that a crude house be built on the island, with tanks for holding water and provisions for any other unfortunates who might be cast away there. But the provisions were stolen within a year, and the house soon fell into ruins. Kure is located in the middle of a major current which constantly washes up debris such as fishing nets and large numbers of cigarette lighters on the island. These pose threats to the local animals, especially birds, whose skeletons are frequently found with plastic in the stomach cavity.

Formerly, a United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the Military of the United States and one of seven Uniformed services of the United States. In addition to being a military branch at all times, it is unique among the armed forces in that it is also a Admiralty law agency and a Federal government of the United States regulatory agency....
 LORAN
LORAN

LORAN is a terrestrial radio navigation system using low frequency radio transmitters that uses multiple transmitters to determine location and/or speed of the receiver....
 station was located on Green Island. A short coral runway still remains on the island, but is in disuse and is not maintained.

Amateur radio

Because of its particularly remote location Kure Island has been the scene of several amateur radio
Amateur radio

Amateur radio, often called Etymology of ham radio, is both a hobby and a service in which participants, called "hams," use various types of radio communications equipment to communicate with other radio amateurs for Public services, recreation and self-training....
 DX
DXing

DXing is the hobby of tuning in and identifying distant radio or Terrestrial television signals, or making two way radio contact with distant stations in amateur radio, citizens' band radio or other two way radio communications hobbies....
 expeditions, or DX-pedition
DX-pedition

A DX-pedition is an expedition to what is considered an exotic place by amateur radio operators, perhaps because of its remoteness or because there are very few radio amateurs active from that place....
s. Because the radio propagation path from Kure runs right over the North Polar region, opportunities for distant communication with Kure are particularly popular among Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
an amateurs. The most recent two DXpeditions to Kure were:
  • 1997 Event call sign
    Call sign

    In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In some countries they are used as names for broadcasting stations, but in many other countries they are not....
    : K7K This was a joint scientific/radio operation including four fish and wildlife scientists and the eight members of the Midway-Kure DX Foundation's 1996 Midway team. The team included four scientists from the United States Department of Fish and Wildlife.
  • 2005 Event call sign: K7C The team consisted of 12 amateur radio operator
    Amateur radio operator

    An amateur radio operator is an individual who typically uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way communication personal communications with other similar individuals on Frequency assigned to the amateur radio service....
    s from the United States, Canada
    Canada

    Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
    , and Germany
    Germany

    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
    .


External links