Coral Sea - the sea of the Pacific Ocean , which lies between the shores of Australia , New Guinea , New Caledonia . Surface area - 4791 thousand km². The maximum depth is 9140 meters.
| Coral sea | |
|---|---|
 Map of the coral sea islands. | |
| Specifications | |
| Square | 4 791 000 km² |
| Volume | 11,470,000 km³ |
| Deepest | 9140 m |
| Average depth | 2394 m |
| Location | |
In the west, it borders on the east coast of Queensland , including the Great Barrier Reef , in the east - with Vanuatu (the former New Hebrides) and New Caledonia , and in the north-east - with the southern tip of the Solomon Islands . In the northwest, it reaches the southern coast of eastern New Guinea , including Papua Bay. It merges with the Tasmanian Gulf in the south, the Solomon Sea in the north and the Pacific Ocean in the east. In the west, it is bounded by the mainland coast of Queensland, and in the northwest it connects to the Arafura Sea through the Torres Strait . [one]
The sea is characterized by a warm and stable climate, with frequent rains and tropical cyclones. It contains numerous islands and reefs, as well as the world's largest reef system, the Great Barrier Reef, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. All previous oil exploration projects were discontinued in the Great Barrier Reef in 1975, and fishing is limited in many areas. The reefs and islands of the Coral Sea are especially rich in birds and aquatic inhabitants and are a popular tourist destination both nationally and internationally.
Main ports: Cairns , Port Moresby , Noumea .
Content
Geology
The Coral Sea basin formed between 58 million and 48 million years ago, when the Queensland continental shelf was raised, forming a large dividing ridge, and at the same time, seismic activity subsided. [2] The sea was an important source of coral for the Great Barrier Reef , both during its formation and after the decline in sea level. [3]
The geological processes of the reservoir are still ongoing, as partially indicated by seismic activity. In the period 1866-2000, several hundred earthquakes of magnitude 2 to 6 were recorded along the coast of Queensland and in the Coral Sea. [4] On April 2, 2007, the Solomon Islands was hit by a major earthquake, followed by a tsunami several meters high. The epicenter of an earthquake of magnitude 8.1 was 349 km northwest of Honiara at a depth of 10 km. It was followed by more than 44 shocks of magnitude 5.0 or more. The tsunami killed at least 52 people and destroyed more than 900 homes. [five]
The sea got its name due to its many coral formations. They include a reef that extends about 2,000 km (1,200 miles) along the northeast coast of Australia and includes about 2,900 individual reefs [6] and 1,000 islands [7] . The Chesterfield and Reef Lihou Islands are the largest atolls of the Coral Sea.
Climate
The sea is located in a subtropical climate and is often affected by tropical cyclones, especially between January and April. This phenomenon extends from November to May in areas south to 10 ° C. Between 1969 and 1997, 80-90% of cyclones were from category 1 or 2 (wind 17-33 m / s, center pressure 970-1000 GPa) and only 10% from category 3 (wind speed 33 m / s pressure 970 hPa). The frequency of cyclones decreased from 1997 to 2005 to 1.5 per year (a total of 12). [eight]
Annual precipitation usually ranges from 1000 to 3000 mm, depending on the area. Most rains fall between December and March, with bursts of 30-60 days. [8] The number of clear days in a year ranges from approximately 80 to 125, and typical temperature fluctuations throughout the year are 18-27 ° C. [9]
Literature
- Coral Sea - an article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia .
- Hopley, David. The geomorphology of the Great Barrier Reef: development, diversity, and change . - Cambridge University Press, 2007. - ISBN 0-521-85302-8 .
Notes
- ↑ Coral Sea , Encyclopædia Britannica on-line
- ↑ Hopley, p. 27
- ↑ Hopley, pp. 33–34
- ↑ "Solomon Islands earthquake and tsunami" , Breaking Legal News - International, March 4, 2007
- ↑ "Aid reaches tsunami-hit Solomons" , BBC News , 2007-04-03
- ↑ Great Barrier Reef , Encyclopædia Britannica on-line
- ↑ Hopley, pp. 1, 26
- ↑ 1 2 Hopley, p. 96
- ↑ Climate Data Online , Australian Bureau of Meteorology