Untangling Maralinga: Spatial and Temporal Complexities of Australia’s Atomic Anthropocene

Abstract

ABSTRACT Reflecting on the atomic test sites in the South Australian desert, this article analyses the bisociation of cultural and historical spaces with geographical and geological formations. We expand Michel Foucault’s concept of heterotopias to include complex intersections with natural environments. Given the close association of human intervention and landform, these atomic test sites are also important indicators of the Anthropocene, marking transitional geo-spaces influenced by both human and pre-human geological action. Crossing dimensions of colonial contest, tourism, atomic science and geology, we demonstrate that temporal and physical intersections of multiple human cultures at atomic test sites both influence and are influenced by deep-time geological history.