Christmas Island

Palumbo, R. F., Donaldson, L. R., Barnes, R. N., Bonham, K., Casey, H. W., Engstrom, D. E., Gessel, S. P., Held, E. E., Hines, N. O., Mathisen, 0. A., Nakatani, R. E., Olson, P. R. and Welander, A. D. (1963). Radionuclide Content of Foodstuffs Collected at Christmas Island and at Other Islands of the Central Pacific During Operation Dominic, 1962, Report No. UWFL-87 (Laboratory of Radiation Biology, University of Washington, Seattle). 

Welander, A. D. and Palumbo, R. F. (1963). Radionuclide Content of Oceanic Fish, Plankton, and Water in the Vicinity of Christmas Island, March Through August 1962, Report No. UWFL-88 (Laboratory of Radiation Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington). 

Fanning and Washington, 1500 km. south of the Hawaiian chain play an important role in the development plans of the small nation of Kiribati. Christmas Island is the largest pure coral island in the world, and represents over half (363.63 km2) of the total land area of Kiribati, yet only 2.2% of the population resides there. 

The direction that development of these islands will take is unclear at the present time because of the political situation. Ciguatera is not a severe problem in the Line Islands, but it is one that must be kept in mind as development schemes are implemented, not only because of the increased population dependent on the abundant marine resource, but because of the reef modification that may take place. At the present time, the government is planning to blast a channel through the reef at the new village site on Christmas Island. This could provide yet another valuable natural experiment. Turbinaria, one of the macroalgal substrates preferred G. toxicus is abundant at the site. 

Kiribati has in fact already begun to export fish from Christmas Island and the fish are flown to Honolulu for sale in retail fish markets. Most of the fish that are exported at the present time are milkfish (Chanos chanos) from the interior lagoon, and spiny lobster from the reef flat - neither of which are ciguatoxic but other reef species make up part of the export. 

Those who knew Malay tradition were more cautious, knowing what shallow roots the new polity had. R. O. Winstedt, concerned as inspector of Malay schools to root Malays in a distinct Melayu tradition, nevertheless eventually called one book he wrote for an English public, Malaya. He had to explain what it meant— The word Malaya is an English hybrid applied only to British possessions and protectorates, and especially perhaps to the Peninsula, so that British Malaya is pleonastic (Winstedt 1923 1). As if to overemphasise the alien Britishness of the term, he claimed it should properly also cover the Borneo territories, and even Cocos and Christmas islands. Nevertheless a term was needed and Malaya gradually established itself in the 1920s. In the same year as Winstedt s book, 1923, the venerable Journal of the Straits Branch of the... 

A similar ore occurs in the upper stratum ( C-grade ) of the phosphate deposit on Christmas Island. The C-grade ore contains about 25 percent P205 dry basis. Calcination is carried out in a fluidized bed, operated in the range of 400-600°C. The maximum solubility in alkaline ammonium citrate solution is about 70 percent. 

Other well-known deposits are those of Christmas Island, also Redonda and Sombrero (West Indies). 

A few of the nuclear weapon tests in the Pacific Ocean were conducted by the USA outside the Marshall Islands, near Johnston Atoll and Christmas Island (the latter Kiribati, formerly the Gilbert Islands) however, these tests were limited to high altitude explosions. 

Apatite apparently forms in vitro at pH values 21s low as 6.8 (possibly as low as 6.4) (Simpson, 1968) and seems to be free from dependence on the oxidation-reduction potential. At Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) a carbonate fluorhydroxyapatite is thought to form through aerobic decay of... 

Trueman, N.A., 1965. The phosphate, volcanic and carbonate rocks of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. J. Geol. Soc. Austr., 12 261—283. 

All commercially used phosphorous compounds are derived from phosphate rocks. Some deposits accumulated have billions of tons of phosphate, for example the Phos-poria deposit of the western USA and Morocco. Large deposits are also found in Australia, China, Florida, and the Kola Peninsula. The deposits of Christmas Island are of guano origin and are rapidly being depleted by over-use, though other reserves of phosphate ore should last for a thousand years. Globally, over 75 million tons of such rocks, containing about 15 million tons of P, are mined annually. About 95% of this output is destined directly for the food chain, with 90% as fertilizers and 4% in the form of different additives to livestock fodder (3.4%) or human foodstuffs (0.7%). About 4.5% of mined phosphorus is used... 

The Christmas Island Robber Crab - A Case Study... 

Insular deposits are a type of sedimentary deposit associated with oceanic islands. Insular deposits have been an important source of phosphate rock for more than 100 years. However, intensive exploitation has caused several deposits to be totally depleted or to have short projected lifetimes (Ocean Island, Christmas Island, and Nauru, to name a few). 

Naura Island Christmas Island Lumphun, Thailand Mejillones, Chile Sechura, Peru ... 

Two calcined aluminophosphate products, Calciphos (coarse product) and Citraphos (fine product), were produced by calcining Christmas Island C grade ore. The products had a total minimum P2O5 content of 30% a minimum of 20% P2O5 was soluble in neutral ammonium citrate, and approximately 10% P2O5 was soluble in 2% citric acid or 2% formic acid. These products are not currently being produced. 

The Oceania reserve figures are dominated by Australia with approximately 87% of the total reserves (340 miOion tonnes). The Australian deposits have not been developed commercially. Among the other deposils are Nauru and Christmas Island. These insular deposits have contributed significantly to r cmal trade in the past and, although both are presently being worked, their economic reserves are very small (perhaps 10-20 millicai tonnes total). 

It is composed almost completely of iron and aluminum phosphates (mostly crandallite, Ca (Fe, Alls (POsla (0I 5 3H20, and miOisite Ca (Na,K) (Fe, AQe (POs)2 (0I 5 3H20) and is altogether unsuitable for conventional phosphoric acid/soluble phosphates production. All the accessible reserves of phosphate rocks on Christmas Island have been signibcantly depleted and will suffice for 16 to 17 years at most. 

Both the Phosphal from Senegal and the Christmas Island product may be shipped in bulk after calcination to be ground in the importing country. 

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, limited amounts of phosphate rock have been exported from various parts of the Pacific, particularly from Nauru, Ocean Island and Christmas Island (1906) (output from the last of these is usually now included with that from Australia). Most of these sources are now almost exhausted, however, and their contribution to world output is very small (see below). 

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