earth science

Koro Sea

Koro Sea is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Koro Sea rather than just read about it. In short: The Koro Sea or Sea of Koro is a sea in the Pacific Ocean surrounded by the islands of Fiji. It is named after Koro Island.

Key takeaways

Koro Sea belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Koro Sea to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Koro Sea from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Koro Sea or Sea of Koro is a sea in the Pacific Ocean surrounded by the islands of Fiji. It is named after Koro Island.

Geography The Koro Sea lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It is surrounded by the more than 300 islands of Fiji, and is bordered by Viti Levu to the south, Vanua Levu and Taveuni to the north, Kadavu to the west, and the Lau Islands to the east. It is about 2,100 kilometres (1,300 mi; 1,100 nmi) north of Auckland, New Zealand. It is named after the volcanic island of Koro, an island of the Fijian archipelago located in the northwestern part of the Koro Sea.

Physical description The Koro Sea covers an area of about 58,000 square kilometres (22,000 sq mi; 17,000 sq nmi). It is relatively shallow: its maximum depth is 2,930 metres (9,613 ft), and on average its northern and western portions are shallower than its eastern portion. The seabed is formed by heavy basaltic rocks characteristic of ocean basins. Rocks, sandbars and numerous coral reefs between the islands occupy about 411 square kilometres (159 sq mi; 120 sq nmi) of the sea, making navigation possible only through a few narrow passages in its central portion. The sea separates the two underwater platforms from which the Fiji Islands rise. An oceanic ridge that crosses the Nanuku Passage in the northwestern part of the sea connects the two platforms. The region has a high level of seismic activity.

Climate The entire Koro Sea lies in the tropics. Tropical air currents circulate over it all year round, although changes in air temperature with the change of season is documented. The trade winds predominate and tropical cyclones form in the warm season.

Flora and fauna The Koro Sea is part of the marine ecoregion of the Fiji Islands, which is included within the Central Indo-Pacific biogeographic region. In the field of zoogeography, the benthic fauna of the continental shelf and the sandbanks of the islands up to depths of 200 metres (656 ft) also corresponds to the Indo-Pacific biogeographic region within the tropical framework More than 300 species of hard corals, 1,500 of fish, and 7,000 of sea snails are found there.

Transportation Passenger ferries provide periodical service from the Koro Sea to Ovalau Island. The Nanuku Passage serves as a sea route for importing products into the Koro Sea region.

Recreation Scuba diving and snorkeling are possible in the Koro Sea but are not widely practiced because of the difficulty of safe navigation of its waters.

References

Citations

Bibliography Coulson, F. I. E. (1976). Geology of the Lomaiviti and Moala Island Groups: An Explanation of Viti Levu Sheet 21 and Lomaiviti Sheets 1 to 4. Government of Fiji. Davis, William Morris (1976). The Coral Reef Problem. R. E. Krieger Publishing Company. ISBN 9780882753836. Hocart, Arthur Maurice (1915). "Ethnographical sketch of Fiji". Man. 15. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland: 76–77. doi:10.2307/2788875. JSTOR 2788875. Mydel, Rajmund; Groch, Jerzy; Adamski, Wojciech (2000). Kontynenty i państwa: Australazja, Antarktyka (Continents and Countries: Australasia, Antarctica), Popularna encyklopedia powszechna (Popular Universal Encyclopedia) (in Polish). Kraków: Fogra; Grupa Wydawnicza Bertelsmann. pp. 239–240. ISBN 9788372277374. OCLC 749488757.

Further reading Hocart, Arthur Maurice (1915). "Ethnographical sketch of Fiji". Man. 15. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland: 76–77. doi:10.2307/2788875. JSTOR 2788875. Retrieved 8 September 2013. Kontynenty i państwa: Australazja, Antarktyka (in Polish). Kraków: Fogra. 2000. pp. 239–240. ISBN 83-7227-737-0. OCLC 749488757.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Koro Sea

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Koro Sea claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Koro Sea before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Koro Sea ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Koro Sea

In research: Koro Sea appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Koro Sea in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Koro Sea is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bodies of water of Fiji, Seas of Oceania, Seas of the Pacific Ocean, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Koro Sea outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Koro Sea in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Koro Sea means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Koro Sea out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Koro Sea in simple terms?

The Koro Sea or Sea of Koro is a sea in the Pacific Ocean surrounded by the islands of Fiji. It is named after Koro Island.

Why does Koro Sea matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Koro Sea?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Koro Sea.