| Popis: |
This chapter describes the hydrogeology of Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Heron Island supports one of the ten largest nesting colonies of green sea turtles ( Chelonia mydas ) in eastern Australia, and the third largest surviving stand in Australia of a now uncommon tree, the Pisonia grandis. Heron Island is situated on the Tropic of Capricorn and has a subtropical maritime climate with a seasonal pattern of hot wet summers and warm and moderately dry winters. Heron Island has a maximum elevation of about 8 m. It was formed from the gradual accretion of bioclastic sediments at a focal zone where wind-induced waves dissipated sufficiently for suspended sediments to be deposited. At Heron Island, exposed beachrock formations outline an earlier shoreline. The changing shoreline of this island is the result of decadal-scale oscillations of annual wind-energy vectors. Ongoing research can add to the current understanding of coral-cay hydrogeology and also can provide better understanding of the environmental implications of human activities at Heron Island. |
