Sediment Transport and Water Movement at One Tree Reef, 1979

In March and April 1979, water circulation and sediment flux were monitored over the windward and leeward margins of One Tree Reef in the southern Great Barrier Reef. The dataset, provided by the Australian Ocean Data Network, documents flow patterns and sediment transport across different reef zones, including algal flats, coral flats, and sand sheets. It describes how sediment movement varies between spring and neap tides, with sediment primarily lost from the system via spring tide flushing over the leeward margin.

Use Cases

• Modeling sediment flux patterns based on described water flow reversals between spring and neap tides.
• Analyzing the relationship between tidal energy and mud distribution in a reef lagoon based on the described energy patterns.
• Studying the net sediment loss from a reef system based on the described comparative transport over the leeward margin.

Strengths

• Data collection occurred during a specific, documented period in March/April 1979.
• The description provides detailed qualitative relationships between water flow, tidal cycles, and sediment transport across distinct reef zones.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect temporal bias inherent to a single two-month observation period in 1979.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Field monitoring of water circulation and sediment flux.

Time Range

March/April 1979

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-16 09:51:17.554610; freshness should be verified.

Geography

One Tree Reef, southern Great Barrier Reef