Wolanski, Eric, Kingsford, Michael J., Lambrechts, Jonathan, and Marmorino, George (2024) The Physical Oceanography of the Great Barrier Reef:. In: Wolanski, Eric, and Kingsford, Michael J., (eds.) Oceanographic Processes of Coral Reefs. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA, pp. 9-34.

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Abstract

Here, we emphasise a fundamental difference between the shelf waters of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and other parts of the world. The water circulation over the GBR continental shelf, like that of continental shelves worldwide, is strongly influenced by the circulation in the adjoining sea. This circulation is dominated by the South Equatorial Current that is highly mesoscale turbulent and takes the form of jets and eddies. As these jets approach the continental shelf, they bifurcate to the north and south. Commonly, shelf waters have a gentle slope, with few shoals, islands, and reefs until the shelf break. In contrast, the GBR has approximately 2,500 reefs, resulting in a flow field largely uncorrelated with the mesoscale turbulence in the adjoining Coral Sea. The currents among reefs are generally dominated by strong tidal currents, topographic eddies, jets, topographically driven upwelling and downwelling, shear zones, stagnation zones, and topographically steered flows. The reefs generate a ‘bioengineered’ physical oceanography dominated by a number of processes including (1) Bernoulli tidal upwelling in reef passages, (2) inflow of oceanic water from wave breaking at the reef crests, (3) swift tidal flow through reef passages and the channelisation of the tidal flow on the shelf, (4) the wind deflecting intruding oceanic water back out to sea, (5) deflection of the mean currents around a reef matrix through the ‘sticky water’ effect, (6) convergence of opposing tidal waves in the southern GBR, and (7) reduction by the reefs of the inflow into the GBR from oceanic water.

Item ID:	82753
Item Type:	Book Chapter (Research - B1)
ISBN:	978-1-003-32042-5
Copyright Information:	© 2024 selection and editorial matter, Eric Wolanski and Michael Kingsford; individual chapters, the contributors
Date Deposited:	01 Aug 2024 01:14
FoR Codes:	37 EARTH SCIENCES > 3708 Oceanography > 370803 Physical oceanography @ 33% 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4101 Climate change impacts and adaptation > 410102 Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation @ 33% 37 EARTH SCIENCES > 3708 Oceanography > 370801 Biological oceanography @ 34%
SEO Codes:	18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1802 Coastal and estuarine systems and management > 180206 Rehabilitation or conservation of coastal or estuarine environments @ 34% 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1806 Terrestrial systems and management > 180604 Rehabilitation or conservation of terrestrial environments @ 33% 19 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATURAL HAZARDS > 1901 Adaptation to climate change > 190102 Ecosystem adaptation to climate change @ 33%
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