The Depositional Environments Of The Six Facies Displayed

12. In the Figure 5 profile, the coastline is within a few kilometers of the western end of the vertical cross section. From the coastline, water depth increases very gradually to about 40 m at 140 km from shore (western end of the profile). This segment of the vertical cross-section resembles the continental [(rise)(slope)(shelf)]

Approximately 17 meters thick, Unit A defines the lowest third of the Juniata Formation. Fragments of marine fossils, including bryozoans, brachiopods, and gastropods, are commonly found in the bottom-most portion of this unit of structureless mudstone and quartz arenite. Quartz grains in the sandstone beds of Unit A are typically immature and fine-grained, though the sandstone packages tend to coarsen upwards. Though typically structureless, intermittent bedding of the sandstone and shale packages is observed in this unit, and some areas display

The black color comes from Mnganeese dioxide that has been dissolved in the water and participates out. This process has nothing to do with the primary process of disposition. However, it is very similar to how detriots react. Notice the orange tints to the beds towards the top of the outcrop are due to the oxidation of iron. It began dissolving iron into the rock formation that oxidizes as the air hits. Green coloring is also exposed due to the algae, and moss growing. This displays the terrestrial life forms due to the Mollase

The Capitan reef, an ancient partly-exposed evaporated reef, is located around the park and the caverns. The reef can be studied and looked at from underground, in the caves. This allows geologists and scientists to look at the reef’s history and discover fossilised marine life.

The middle shore, or middle tide zone, is submerged by water for approximately half of the cycle. This means that there is the capability to support much more marine vegetation, specifically seaweeds. The organisms found there are more complex and larger in size than further up the shore.[9] The rock pools can provide a suitable habitat for small fish, sea urchins, shrimps and zoo plankton. This area is more diversified than the upper shore.

The combination of these environmental factors has led to some of the most beautiful colors that can only be found in the many corals that live here. Additionally sediments, twice as old as the reef, indicate that the region was once above sea level (Lunar).

Coral reefs exist all over the world and are generally known as being one of the most diverse, intricate and beautiful of all existing marine habitats. They have many varying structures which are developed by algae and are symbiotic with various reef building corals which are referred to as, zooxanthellae (algae). There are many other factors such as, coralline algae, sponges and other various organisms that are combined with a number of cementation processes which also contribute to reef growth, (CORAL REEFS, 2015).

(Davies et al., 1992). The eastern arm which is the largest arm is fed by two (merrion and Stackpole) which drain the sandstone ridge, while the western, central arms and the central lake are fed predominantly by groundwater which flows from the limestone aquifer. And about two third of the catchments is use for gazing while the other is use for arable farming. (Holman and Vale., 2009). And the lakes can be level lowered through evapotranspiration and groundwater which discharge to the sea.

The rocky shore is the intertidal zone, where the land meets the sea. It has a presence of large and small rocks, with the possibility of rock drop-offs or cliffs. There is a high presence of rock pools, containing an array of living and non-living organisms. The abiotic factors of the rocky shores

Another rifting phase started in the early Jurassic around Pliensbachian or Toarcian (Chongzhi et al., 2013; Geoscience, 2014; Tindale, Newell, Keall, & Smith, 1998). Exmouth, Barrow, Dampier and Beagle Sub-basins were created until Middle Jurassic (He, 2002; Tortopoglu, 2015) and oceanic crust was laid down to form the Argo Abyssal Plain in Late Jurassic around 164-160 Ma during the Callovian to Oxfordian then followed by the Gascoyne and Cuvier Abyssal Plain in Early Cretaceous around 125 Ma (Fullerton, Sager, & Handschumacher, 1989; Müller, Mihut, & Baldwin, 1998). Passive margin was established in North West Shelf. Rifting phase of the basin transformed into sagging phase post breakup thermal subsidence when Gondwana breakup took place during Valanginian early Cretaceous around 134Ma. During the Campanian late Cretaceous, rifting along the Australian southern margin triggered the basin inversions and wrench reactivation of basin structures on NW Shelf. These movements arose the Barrow Island above sea level and formed Novara, Resolution and Exmouth Plateau Arch in Barrow, Dampier Sub-Basins and Investigator Sub-Basin (Figure 1) (Longley et al., 2002; Sinhabaedya,

The strata were not positioned in a vertical or horizontal orientation but more in between. The average angle of incline was approximately 45 degrees. The angle of the layers was not consistent along the entire length of the coast. There was a steeper angle in the more northern areas and moving further south the angle decrease to a more horizontal gradient. While the angle did vary gradually there was no sharp discernible change or perpendicular

Permin Land Formation: It is dominated by medium-to fine-grained well-sorted and rounded sandstone (Higgins et al, 1991). There are also dolomite and siltstone interbed and features like wave-ripple lamination, flat and low-angle lamination as well as shallow trough & tabular crossbedding are also present indicating a shallow marine depositional environment. The thickness of Permin Land Formation is up to 50m (Higgins et al, 1991).

The coral reef surveyors were instructed to find the best sites that they believed had the most living coral and were thought to be least affected by human activities. This would allow Hodgson to determine if human activities were having an appreciable effect on the supposed pristine coral reefs, which were distant from urban centers. The invertebrate survey was undertaken at two depth intervals of 3m and 10m. Four 0.5 m wide by 20 m long belts were placed on the coral reef. Over a period of 3-5 minutes the observers counted the number of invertebrates found on the belts. The coral survey was performed, by placing four 20 m long belts on the coral substrate. At 0.5 m intervals the substrate on which the belts were lying was examined and recorded.

Literature suggests that the Wandagee Formation conformably overlies the Quinnanie Shale (Mory & Backhouse, 1997). These two sections were most likely deposited within a marine shelf, perhaps below the storm water wave base (notebook page 33). The Quinnanie, displaying no trace fossils or bioturbation and generally massive in structure may suggest that it was deposited at greater depths than the Wandagee Formation or it may suggest a cycle of shallowing and deepening waters, due to tidal influences. The Quinnanie representing deepened waters. Its more organic make-up may also indicate that it was deposited at greater depths than the Wandagee. The Wandagee Formation contains a vast number of structures that indicate a shallower environment than the Quinnanie. Whilst still being deposited below the storm water wave base, it may be possible that it was deposited during a shallowing oscillation. Trace fossils that were burrowing indicate shallower waters, the stratigraphic log demonstrates these relationships, figure 22).

On the 9th of March, I went to Siren’s Rocks to investigate the community pattern, also called zonation, within the bounds of Island Bay’s Wellington Ecological Marine Reserve. The ecosystem of Taputeranga Marine Reserve takes the full impact of the Southern ocean swells. This Reserve is influenced by three different oceanic currents. This is an abiotic factor. The currents impact helps shape the rocky shoreline into the ecological community of different species of shore life into a pattern of different zones (zonation).