earth science

New Caledonian barrier reef

New Caledonian barrier reef 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 New Caledonian barrier reef rather than just read about it. In short: The New Caledonian barrier reef is a barrier reef located in New Caledonia in the South Pacific, being the longest continuous barrier reef in the world and the third largest after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. The New Caledonian barrier reef surrounds Grande Terre, New Caledonia's largest island, as well as the Ile des Pins and several smaller islands, reaching a length of 1…

Key takeaways

New Caledonian barrier reef 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 New Caledonian barrier reef to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of New Caledonian barrier reef from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The New Caledonian barrier reef is a barrier reef located in New Caledonia in the South Pacific, being the longest continuous barrier reef in the world and the third largest after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. The New Caledonian barrier reef surrounds Grande Terre, New Caledonia's largest island, as well as the Ile des Pins and several smaller islands, reaching a length of 1,500 kilometres (930 mi). The reef encloses a lagoon of 24,000 square kilometres (9,300 sq mi), which has an average depth of 25 metres (82 ft). The reefs lie up to 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the shore, but extend almost 200 kilometres (120 mi) to the Entrecasteaux reefs in the northwest. This northwestern extension encloses the Belep Islands and other sand cays. Several natural passages open out to the ocean. The Boulari passage, which leads to Nouméa, the capital and chief port of New Caledonia, is marked by the Amédée lighthouse. In 2008, the barrier reef and its enclosing lagoon was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its outstanding beauty, its unique geography as a reef entirely encircling Grande Terre, and its exceptional marine diversity (in particular its coral diversity).

Ecology The reef systems of New Caledonia are considered to be the second largest in the world after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, the longest continuous barrier reef in the world with a length of 1,600 km and its lagoon, the largest in the world with an area of 24,000 square kilometers. This ecosystem hosts along with Fiji, the world's most diverse concentration of reef structures, 146 types based on a global classification system, and they equal or even surpass the much larger Great Barrier Reef in coral and fish diversity. The reef has great species diversity with a high level of endemism. In total, there have been 2328 fish species observed in the reef, belonging to 248 families. In addition, the reef is home to third-largest population of endangered dugongs (Dugong dugon) on Earth, and is an important nesting site for green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas). In the lagoons of New Caledonia there are many other marine species, including over 2000 species of molluscs and a thriving population of humpback whales.

Environmental threats Most of the reefs are generally thought to be in good health. Some of the eastern reefs have been damaged by effluent from nickel mining on Grand Terre. Sedimentation from mining, agriculture, and grazing has affected reefs near river mouths, which has been worsened by the destruction of mangrove forests, which help to retain sediment. Some reefs have been buried under several metres of silt. In 2008, an assessment of northwest near-shore reefs concluded that many would be dead within years, and at best decades, if present trends relating to mining sediment and silt run-off continued. In January 2002, the French government proposed listing New Caledonia's reefs as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO listed New Caledonia barrier reef on the World Heritage List under the name The Lagoons of New Caledonia: Reef Diversity and Associated Ecosystems on 7 July 2008. There are 13 local management committees, composed of tourist operators, fishermen, politicians and chiefs of local tribes, which work with the community to monitor the health of the lagoons.

Human use Scuba Diving is common, with several dive sites in the lagoon and around the reef. These include the Prony needle, the Shark Pit and the Cathedral.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with New Caledonian barrier reef

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what New Caledonian barrier reef 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 New Caledonian barrier reef 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 New Caledonian barrier reef 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 New Caledonian barrier reef

In research: New Caledonian barrier reef 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 New Caledonian barrier reef 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: New Caledonian barrier reef is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Central Indo-Pacific, Coral reefs, Ecoregions of New Caledonia, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for New Caledonian barrier reef 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 New Caledonian barrier reef in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what New Caledonian barrier reef 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 New Caledonian barrier reef out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is New Caledonian barrier reef in simple terms?

Why does New Caledonian barrier reef 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 New Caledonian barrier reef?

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 New Caledonian barrier reef.