The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the natural world, and pulling away from it, and viewing it from a greater distance, you can understand why. It is larger than the Great Wall of China and the only living thing on earth visible from space. The worlds largest coral reef system contains an abundance of marine life and boasts of over 3000 individual reefs and hundreds of picturesque tropical islands with some of the worlds most beautiful beaches.
The Great Barrier Reef has long been known to and used by the Aboriginal Australian and Torres Straight Islander peoples, and is an important part of local groups’ cultures and spirituality. Tourism to the tropical setting in the coral sea generates AU$ 1 billion per year. And yes , there is surf on the GBR. Its extremely fickle and a mission to get to, but when the elements come together in the right places you could find yourself your own indo like barrels draining down a remote reef hundreds of miles from the nearest crow just as Asher Pacey and Josh Kerr did awhile back.
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Great Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Ocean and the South Polar Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean. It is regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions. This ocean zone is where cold, northward flowing waters from the Antarctic mix with warmer sub-Antarctic waters.
Sailors know this area as the “roaring fourties”, “furious fifties” and “shrieking sixties” due to high winds and large waves that form as winds blow around the entire globe unimpeded by any land-mass. Sea-temperatures vary from about −2 to 10 C (28 to 50 F). Cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently become intense because of the temperature-contrast between ice and open ocean . The ocean-area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth.
This combination creates powerful storms that frequently send perfectly groomed long period swell to the many beaches of South Australia and Victoria. Winter months bring frosty mornings with offshore winds and corduroy lines stacked to the horizon as far as the eye can see.
One person that knows these conditions as well as anyone is Adam Robertson. After placing 2nd to Joel Parkinson in the 2009 WCT Bells Beach Classic, Robbo showed that growing up in this region of the world can prepare you for any type of conditions and when its on, its on. His style is a perfect example of the type of waves he grew up surfing, clean, powerful and explosive. While we spent some time filming in this cold raw and unpredictable region, we were pleasentley surprised with classic winter time conditions.
As production rolls on things have gotten very busy and blog updates have been few and far between. Here’s a quick look at some of the sights from the last week. There has been a lot of swell and we have been on the move so there is plenty of photographic bliss on the way as well as a few film clips to fill you in on all the happenings over the last few weeks. Check back soon for a full update or make it easy and subscribe to the blog and stay in the loop.
The Atlantic Ocean covers an area of approximately 41,105,000 square miles (106,460,000 square kilometers). Covering approximately 20 percent of the Earth’s surface, the Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean basin in the world, following only the Pacific. However, it is only slightly larger than half the size of the Pacific Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean lie […]
Datums are the basis for all geodetic survey work A geodetic datum is an abstract coordinate system with a reference surface (such as sea level) that serves to provide known locations to begin surveys and create maps. In this way, datums act similar to starting points when you give someone directions. For instance, when you want to tell someone how to get to […]
The Sargasso Sea, located entirely within the Atlantic Ocean, is the only sea without a land boundary The Sargasso Sea is a vast patch of ocean is named for a genus of free-floating seaweed called Sargassum. While there are many different types of algae found floating in the ocean all around world, the Sargasso Sea is unique in that it harbors species of sar […]
NOAA's Harmful Algal Bloom Operational Forecast System in the Gulf of Mexico identifies whether or not a bloom of algae is likely to contain a toxic species, where it is, how big it is, where it's headed, and if it could become more severe in the near future. Like a weather forecast, this system provides officials advance warning to test and close […]
You won't find Spirobranchus giganteus, also known as the Christmas tree worm, eating your fir tree this year. The common name for these worms is derived from their appearance, not their habitat or diet. Each worm has two brightly colored crowns that protrude from its tube-like body. These Christmas tree-like crowns are composed of radioles, or hair-lik […]
Corals have long been popular as souvenirs, for home decor, and in jewelry, but many consumers are unaware that these beautiful structures are made by living creatures. Fewer still realize that corals are dying off at alarming rates around the world. Coral reefs are some of the most biologically rich and economically valuable ecosystems on Earth, but they ar […]
For most areas it could be a matter of years, not days or weeks, before debris from the Japanese tsunami reaches the United States. The debris clumped together when it first washed into the ocean, but it has since dispersed, making it difficult to locate. This makes it hard for scientists to tell what types of debris are still afloat and how much of it will […]
The cryosphere is the frozen water part of the Earth system There are places on Earth that are so cold that water is frozen solid. These areas of snow or ice, which are subject to temperatures below 0°C for at least part of the year, compose the cryosphere. The term “cryosphere” comes from the Greek word, “krios,” which means cold. Ice and snow on land are o […]
Tide and current data is available from NOAA's Center for Operational Products and Services website Tides Tide Predictions. Generate a graphical display or a tabular listing of daily high and low tide predictions for more than 3,000 locations around the nation. Predictions may be generated up to two years in advance. Real-Time Tide Data. Access current […]
'Turkeyfish' is another name for lionfish. Viewed from the right angle, the ornate fins of the lionfish resemble turkey plumage. That's why 'turkeyfish' is one of the many imaginative names people use when referring to the lionfish. Lionfish are native to the Indo-Pacific, but are now established along the southeast coast of the U.S. […]
While we often think of the earth as a sphere, our planet is actually very bumpy and irregular. The radius at the equator is larger than at the poles due to the long-term effects of the earth's rotation. And, at a smaller scale, there is topography—mountains have more mass than a valley and thus the pull of gravity is regionally stronger near mountains […]
NOAA's Digital Coast provides the data, tools, and training that communities use to manage their coastal resources Geospatial data alone is not enough. For data to be truly useful, additional training, tools, and information are often required. The Digital Coast provides this complete package in one place for coastal officials. The Digital Coast is a co […]
