Late Pleistocene history of turbidite sedimentation in a submarine canyon off the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

2012 ◽  
Vol 331-332 ◽  
pp. 75-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jody M. Webster ◽  
Robin J. Beaman ◽  
Ángel Puga-Bernabéu ◽  
Deane Ludman ◽  
Willem Renema ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Submarine Canyon ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
History Of ◽  
Turbidite Sedimentation

scholarly journals Queensland Protects Sea Turtles

Oryx ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-24
Author(s):  
H. Robert Bustard
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Population Studies ◽  
Sea Turtles ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
History Of ◽  
Turtle Population ◽  
Protection Order ◽  
Full Protection

In 1968 the Queensland Government gave five species of turtle full protection along the State’s entire 3200-mile-long coast and the whole of the Great Barrier Reef. In this article Dr Bustard tells the history of turtle protection in Queensland and describes the two turtle population studies he has been running since 1964 which, with other studies, led to the protection order.

Forty-five years of change on low wooded islands, Great Barrier Reef

1978 ◽  
Vol 284 (999) ◽  
pp. 63-80 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Coral Growth ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Evolutionary Sequence ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Aerial Reconnaissance ◽  
History Of ◽  
Barrier Reefs

During the 1928-29 Expedition, centred at Low Isles, Spender mapped the ‘low wooded islands’ or ‘island-reefs’ of Low Isles and Three Isles in detail, and additional information was published by Steers, T. A. Stephenson and others. From this work, two different models of the evolution of low wooded islands were proposed, Spender holding that the islands were in a state of equilibrium resulting from their location on the reef, Steers that they could be placed in an evolutionary sequence. Moorhouse described the results of cyclones at Low Isles in 1931 and 1934, and Fairbridge & Teichert reconsidered the general issues following aerial reconnaissance and a brief visit to Low Isles in 1945. Subsequently, aspects of change since 1928-29 have been studied at Low Isles by W. Stephenson, Endean & Bennett in 1954 and by W. Macnae in 1965. Maps produced since 1929, however, have all been based on Spender’s surveys. In 1973, Low Isles and Three Isles were remapped in detail, and a direct comparison can now be made over an interval of 45 years. This shows changes in island topography, and substantial alteration in the size and location of shingle ramparts which has affected conditions for coral growth on reef flats. Mangroves have extended greatly at Low Isles, but not at all at Three Isles. The implications of these findings for the general models of Steers and Spender will be discussed and related to the Holocene history of the Great Barrier Reefs.

Radiocarbon ages from the northern Great Barrier Reef

1978 ◽  
Vol 291 (1378) ◽  
pp. 139-158 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Laboratory Methods ◽  
Reef Environments ◽  
History Of ◽  
Reef Islands ◽  
Radiometric Ages

The aims of the 1973 Great Barrier Reef Expedition’s radiocarbon dating programmes were: (i) to collect live specimens from various reef environments to serve as modern reference standards; (ii) to evaluate the suitability of materials from the drilling, geomorphic and sediment programmes for dating purposes; and (iii) to date appropriate samples related to those programmes. The radiometric ages provide a time scale for the evolution of reefs and reef islands, and the history of sea level in the area. The purpose of this paper is to report results of all ages determined to date, to describe field and laboratory methods used and to assess the reliability of the ages in terms of (i) the actual materials dated and (ii) the geomorphic, ecological or stratigraphic units from which the samples were obtained. Seventy-nine determinations based on 74 samples are reported. No interpretation of the results is attempted here.

Oil Spills in the Great Barrier Reef Region

1991 ◽  
Vol 1991 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Craik
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
National Plan ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sparse Population ◽  
Reasonable Use

ABSTRACT The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is charged with conservation of the Great Barrier Reef while allowing reasonable use to continue. One of the major challenges facing the authority is the risk of a major oil spill in the Great Barrier Reef region. An oil spill contingency plan, Reefplan, developed for the Great Barrier Reef region and part of Torres Strait, is a component of the Australian National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil. The authority provides scientific advice to the on-scene coordinator, who is in charge of responding to any spill. This paper reviews the history of oil spills in the Great Barrier Reef and discusses the authority's role in prevention and preparation for oil spills. The difficulty of coping with a large spill and the issue of environmental damage are highlighted, given the relatively remote nature of the region, the sparse population, and the logistic difficulties of working in such an area.

Shelf-edge delta and reef development on a mixed siliciclastic–carbonate margin, central Great Barrier Reef

2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (10) ◽  
pp. 1286-1304
Author(s):  
James Daniell ◽  
Thomas Manoy ◽  
Robin J. Beaman ◽  
Jody M. Webster ◽  
Ángel Puga-Bernabéu
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Shelf Edge ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Bathymetric Data ◽  
Impermeable Barrier ◽  
History Of ◽  
Major Impediment ◽  
Upper Slope

ABSTRACT The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is the world's largest extant mixed silicilastic–carbonate margin. Previous research on the Great Barrier Reef has suggested that the extensive barrier reef system may act as an impermeable barrier and limit the development of delta systems during lowstands, but sufficient geophysical data to support this hypothesis are lacking. We use dense sparker seismic and sub-bottom profiler data to better understand the structure of a large lobe-shaped feature (∼ 10 km × 10 km) on the shelf edge of the central GBR and the interactions between siliciclastic and carbonate sedimentary systems. Interpreted sparker seismic contains prograding clinoforms and suggest that the lobe-shaped feature was a river-dominated shelf-edge delta. A delta on the shelf edge implies that the presence of an exposed barrier reef was not a major impediment to deposition and that other adjacent lobe-shaped features are also deltaic deposits. The shelf-edge deltas were deposited onto a broad upper-slope terrace that allowed continued progradation and limited incision when sea level fell below the shelf edge. Delta foresets are commonly colonized by coral reefs, but the spatial and temporal relationship between reefs and some deltaic units remains unclear. The presence of multiple shelf-edge deltas that link to previously mapped Burdekin River paleo-channels indicates a complex history of sedimentation, with the Burdekin River delta migrating up to 100 km along the GBR margin during the late Quaternary. Regional bathymetric data suggest that large modern or recent shelf-edge deltas are rare on the GBR and that there was a broad range of sedimentary processes operating along the margin of the GBR during periods of low sea level.

scholarly journals Coral skeletons reveal the history of nitrogen cycling in the coastal Great Barrier Reef

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk V. Erler ◽  
Hanieh Tohidi Farid ◽  
Thomas D. Glaze ◽  
Natasha L. Carlson-Perret ◽  
Janice M. Lough
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Nitrogen Cycling ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Coral Skeletons ◽  
History Of

The last marine wilderness: spearfishing for trophy fishes in the Coral Sea

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
MATTHEW A. L. YOUNG ◽  
SIMON FOALE ◽  
DAVID R. BELLWOOD
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Marine Reserve ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Pelagic Species ◽  
Coral Sea ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time

SUMMARYIsolation can provide marine ecosystems with a refuge from human impacts. However, information on the biodiversity, ecology and fisheries of remote regions is often sparse. The proposed Coral Sea Marine Reserve could create one of the world's largest and most remote marine parks, yet little information is available to inform discussions. Fish captures from the Coral Sea and adjacent Great Barrier Reef (GBR) were assessed from reports contained in a chronology of spearfishing publications from 1953 to 2009, and reveal for the first time the history of recreational spearfishing in the Coral Sea. Although the area is perceived as relatively untouched, the data indicate that spearfishers have frequented Coral Sea reefs for at least 43 years and reported captures have increased exponentially. Post-1993 trophy captures in the Coral Sea (mean 23 kg) were larger than the adjacent GBR (9 kg). Reef species characterize the GBR catch, while large pelagic species characterize the Coral Sea catch. Provided that functionally important fishes are not targeted, the relatively small scale of recreational spearfishing and the focus on pelagic species suggests that spearfishing currently exerts limited pressure on the ecology of Coral Sea reefs.

scholarly journals Creating a Coral Symphony: Sound Art and Sonification

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Sound Art ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Field Recordings ◽  
History Of ◽  
Rich History ◽  
The Invisible

There is a rich history of artists representing the visible world through imagery. What of the invisible? What if you could harness hidden voices of the natural environment? Artistic sonification is an emerging artistic endeavour at the intersection of mathematics and music, which sees big data transformed into sound. This paper describes the background and development of Coral Symphony - a Sound Art installa-tion unveiling voices from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Installation constituent materials evolved from the sonification of ecological data over twenty years, supplemented with field recordings.

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