Wonderful World of Wonky Holes

Ok, hope y'all are doing well today after the disappointing loss at the Superbowl. I guess it just wasn't in the Cards for Arizona to win (get it? In the Cards? geez...what can I say, I inherited my humor.)

Anyway, I've recovered fairly quickly from the loss since it was only the second game I watched this season... yeah, I'm more of a "do" guy - would rather be playing football than watching it.

SO, question of the day: (Another drum roll, please)

What in the world is a Wonky Hole?

a) the flabby anus of a Rockfish (no lie, I didn't make that line up...)?
b) A volcanic vent in the ocean floor spewing hot gasses?
c) The Aussie term for a small beach pub where the locals hang out?
d) A fresh water spring in the middle of a coral reef in the ocean?

Ahhhh, I'll let you ponder that for a minute. But before I answer, I've got just a couple of things to clarify about the blog -

THING #1! - There are 5 stages to becoming "caretaker" for the Big Reef.

Stage 1 - submitting a video.

Stage 2 - getting into the 50 video pool.

Stage 3 - getting into the short-listed 11 video pool. This consists of 10 folks chosen by the Queensland tourism peeps, and ONE wild card video voted on by the world.

Stage 4 - getting interviewed for a week in the wonderful state of Queensland

Stage 5 - packing the bags for six months and heading (woo hoo!) to the land of polyps.

(BTW, Here's a picture of a bunch of polyps all together in a colony - good thing they're not bigger, cuz they're meat eaters...yup. more on that later.)








photo from Wikipedia









At any rate, we are now in STAGE 1, so stick with me for the ride, and we'll see what happens...

Ok, thing #2 to clarify! I'm giving away a free DVD during each stage to ONE someone who's following this blog and makes at least one comment or contribution during that stage. Hope you like movies based around Australia...

Thing #3 to clarify! The photo at the top of the page is not from the Great Barrier Reef or even Aussie Land. If you guess where it's from, I'll put your name in my blog title for a WHOLE WEEK, lol!

FINALLY, what the heck is a Wonky Hole? In case you haven't guessed it by now, a Wonky Hole (sorry mr. rockfish) is the Aussie term for a submarine fresh water spring on the sea bed in the middle of the BIG REEF. They can be found as far as 60 km offshore.

They were first discovered by local fishermen. Apparently their nets kept getting snagged in spots and almost capsizing their boats. They realized that this was because the irregular coral growth around the submerged springs was causing rough bottoms that were snagging the nets - so, they called them wonky, or topsy-turvy, off-balanced holes. Lots of nutrients, great fishing, hazardous navigation!

Wonky holes are located along riverbeds which existed in the last ice age ending about 11,000 years ago. At that time much of northern Europe and North America was covered by ice sheets up to 3 km thick; the water tied up in the glacial ice lowered the sea level more than 120 m. Less water, more land.

When the ice began to melt, the waters rose, and what was land was covered with seas.

The sediment in the submerged river beds from that period have been covered with coral in many places. Since the sediment is more porous than the surrounding materials, it channels fresh water to thin spots in the coral, creating the fresh water springs and voilá .

A Wonky Hole!

If anyone has a pic of one, feel free to contribute!! And, as always, if I make it down there, I'll be sure to post a pic of my own for you all!

Thanks, Wikipedia for your help on that trivia! Yah, what a cool place the GBR is!!