The island that 'grew back': Pacific isle that disappeared after devastating typhoon reappears 100 years after its destruction



In 1905 a devastating typhoon swept over the Nadikdik atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, stripping it back to the bare coral

University of Auckland scientists have studied aerial photographs of the atoll to track its regeneration from sandy deposits to lush islands

Hoped the study will help scientists better understand how new islands are created, which is of interest as people are worried about rising sea levels

In 1905 a devastating typhoon swept over the Nadikdik atoll in the middle of the Pacific ocean, killing the majority of inhabitants and washing away most of the island.



Just two people survived the storm, but just over a century on, the islands have ‘grown back’ from a sandy deposit to lush reef islands.



Now, researchers from New Zealand have studied the reformation of the atoll, which is part of the remote Marshall Islands, to show how islands can form in relatively short periods of time.



In 1905 a devastating typhoon swept over the Nadikdik Atoll in the middle of the Pacific ocean, killing the majority of inhabitants and washing away most of the island, but since then, the island has regenerated (pictured)

DESERTED NADIKDIK ATOLL

Nadikdik atoll - otherwise known as Knox atoll - is an uninhabited coral atoll of 18 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is the southernmost atoll of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands.

The total land area is only 0.38square miles (98sq km) but it encloses a largely sand-filled lagoon with an area of 1.32 square miles (3.42 sq km). The Knox atoll was claimed by the Empire of Germany along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1884.

After World War I, the island came under the South Pacific Mandate of the Empire of Japan.

Following the end of World War II, it came under the control of the United States until the independence of the Marshall Islands in 1986. On 30 June 1905 the atoll of Nadikdik was completely washed over by a huge typhoon that stripped the atoll down to the bare coral.

All of the some 60 inhabitants perished, save two boys who survived a 24-hour drift voyage clinging to a breadfruit tree.

A University of Auckland study published in the journal Geomorphology documented the changes that have occurred in the Nadikdik atoll, also known as the Knox atoll, since the terrible typhoon, where large sections of reef were decimated.



Dr Murray Ford and Professor Paul Kench studied aerial images of the islands from 1945 up until 2010 and found that a new island has grown from remains, The New Zealand Herald reported.



In just over 60 years the island has grown lush vegetation and by studying the aerial photographs they found that patches of vegetation on the once barren landmass have grown by almost 25 per cent, the NZCity website reported.

The Nadikidik atoll has grown up from a ruined deposit of sandy and coral into a collection of islands including a fully vegetated and stable landmass as well another larger island composed of once separates smaller islands.

Researchers at the University of Auckland studied aerial images (pictured) of the islands from 1945 up until 2010 and found that a new island has grown from decimated remains

The researchers think this rapid regeneration was made possible because the sea around the sandy deposits was so healthy.



‘The storm obviously generated huge amounts of sediment and threw up large amounts of coral on to the islands, which has helped them to re-organise themselves,’ the scientists said.



Nadikdik Atoll (pictured) - otherwise known as Knox Atoll - is an uninhabited coral atoll of 18 islands in the Pacific Ocean

‘They change, they move, they shift - you'll have a period of erosion on one part and a period of accretion on the other.’

Dr Ford, who lived in the Marshall Islands for three years, said the changes were rapid and indicate that reef island formation can occur quickly.



‘Evidence suggests that despite the typhoon occurring over a century ago the geomorphic adjustment of islands is still on-going,’ he said.



In just over 60 years the island has grown lush vegetation and by studying the aerial photographs they found that patches of greenery on the once barren islands have grown by almost 25 per cent. Similar vegetation on the island of Ailuk atoll in the Marshall Islands is pictured

‘The take-home message is really that a high magnitude event can both destroy the islands, and set about a series of processes that enables them to return.’



They hope the study of the small island will help scientists better understand how new islands are created, which is of particular interest as many people are worried that small islands will disappear under rising sea levels, triggered by global warming.



Sea levels in the Pacific Ocean near the Marshall Islands are thought to have risen at a rate of 2.2mm a year since 1946.