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| Tasmanian Bar | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tasmanian Bar |
| Location | Bass Strait |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Tasmania |
Tasmanian Bar is a submerged shoal and series of sandbanks located at the entrance to the Derwent River and the approaches to Hobart, situated within the Bass Strait between Tasmania and the Australian mainland. The feature influences navigation into the River Derwent, affects coastal processes along the South Arm and Kingston shoreline, and interacts with tidal flows associated with the Storm Bay and the D'Entrecasteaux Channel. Mariners, oceanographers, hydrographers and coastal engineers reference the bar in charts maintained by the Australian Hydrographic Office and historical accounts by the Royal Navy and early colonial surveyors.
The bar lies off the mouth of the Derwent River near Hobart and South Arm within Storm Bay, positioned relative to navigational aids such as the Iron Pot Lighthouse and the Cape Bruny Lighthouse. The morphology includes intertidal sandbanks, subtidal shoals and rip channels that connect with the seabed topography mapped by the Australian Hydrographic Office and researchers from the University of Tasmania. Surrounding coastal settlements include Kingston, Glenorchy, and Howrah. The bar modulates wave energy reaching Derwent estuarine habitats and the South Arm Beach littoral zone, and presents a hazard for commercial shipping to the Port of Hobart and recreational vessels from clubs such as the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania and the Hobart Regatta Club.
The sandbanks constituting the bar derive from Quaternary sedimentary processes documented in studies associated with the University of Tasmania and geological surveys by the Geoscience Australia. Sea-level fluctuations since the Last Glacial Maximum and post-glacial isostatic adjustments recorded in palaeoshoreline research have driven the redistribution of sediments from local headlands such as South Arm and Kingston Beach to form the bar. Bedforms reflect interactions with substrates described in reports by the CSIRO and bathymetric surveys from the Australian Hydrographic Office, with mineralogic provenance linked to erosion from the Tasmanian Wilderness catchments and transport influenced by currents traced to the East Australian Current and eddies in Bass Strait. Geological frameworks cite correlations with features in Storm Bay and seabed units mapped near Bruny Island.
The bar provides habitat for benthic communities including polychaetes, crustaceans and benthic algae recorded in studies by the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute and the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies. Fish species such as Australian salmon, flathead, and greenback flounder use the shoals as feeding grounds, while migratory seabirds like short-tailed shearwater and silver gull forage above tidal channels. The bar’s sediments influence seagrass beds in nearby estuaries monitored by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy and the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, and support invertebrate assemblages that attract predators such as Australasian gannet and white-bellied sea eagle. Human impacts from aquaculture operations associated with Tamar River enterprises, and mitigation efforts by environmental NGOs including the Australian Conservation Foundation and the WWF-Australia intersect with management frameworks enforced by the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (Tasmania).
Oceanographic conditions at the bar are influenced by the interaction of Bass Strait dynamics, the southward excursion of the East Australian Current, and local wind regimes observed in meteorological records from the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia). Tidal ranges reflect semidiurnal constituents captured in analyses by the Australian Institute of Marine Science and by hydrographic surveys from the Australian Hydrographic Office, while storm surge events recorded during cyclonic extratropical storms have been documented in assessments involving the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre. Seasonal sea surface temperature variability influences plankton blooms studied by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and by researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), with coastal upwelling events in Bass Strait affecting nutrient fluxes and fisheries recruitment monitored by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation.
Historically a navigational hazard for vessels entering the Port of Hobart, the bar has been charted by the Royal Navy and by cartographers working with the Hydrographic Office; modern navigation relies on aids such as the Iron Pot Lighthouse and electronic charts maintained by the Australian Hydrographic Office and Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Commercial shipping to the Port of Hobart, ferry services to Bruny Island, fishing fleets licensed by the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (Tasmania), and recreational sailors from the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania adjust courses to avoid shoals. Coastal management initiatives by the Tasmanian Government and marine planning instruments under the Commonwealth of Australia address dredging, beach nourishment and habitat protection in coordination with stakeholders including the Hobart City Council and the Clarence City Council.
The bar featured in early European exploration narratives by officers of the Royal Navy and colonial surveyors linked to settlements at Hobart and Port Arthur. Indigenous connections to coastal country by the Palawa people inform cultural heritage around Storm Bay and the Derwent estuary, with archaeological studies conducted by researchers at the University of Tasmania and heritage assessments by the Aboriginal Heritage Council (Tasmania). Maritime incidents, salvage operations and shipwreck records curated by the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery reference the shoals, while local histories preserved by the Tasmanian Historical Research Association and oral histories collected by the Sisters of Charity and community museums contribute to regional maritime identity. The bar figures in environmental histories and management debates involving agencies such as the Environmental Defenders Office (Tasmania), the Australian Conservation Foundation, and the Department of Environment and Energy (Australia).
Category:Geography of Tasmania