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The Morphology of Barchan-shaped Sand Banks from Western Torres Strait, Northern Australia

Created 20/01/2026

Updated 20/01/2026

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Large barchan shaped sand deposits have been observed in the north west of Torres Strait. These deposits share characteristics of both subaerial barchan dunes and subaqueous sand banks. Satellite imagery shows that the deposits migrate in the direction indicated by their horns (10-15 m west per year), and that sediment is shed from their horns, features that are characteristic of subaerial barchan dunes. However the orientation of sandwaves superimposed upon the sand banks indicate the presence of mutually evasive channels and circulation of sediment around the sand bank, a characteristic of subaqueous sand banks. The presence of mutually evasive channels is the criteria used to categorise the deposits as sand banks.

Barchan forms are known to exist in regions with limited sediment supply and unidirectional current or wind regimes. In the Torres Strait both these criteria are met. Previous work has demonstrated the presence of a net westward current through the Torres Strait that is driven by the southeast trade winds. The relatively high displacement of the wind driven currents during the trade wind season relative to the monsoon appears to provide the necessary "unidirectional" regime to form barchans. The low, and typically eastwards, displacement of the residual monsoon season current appears to have a negligible affect on the barchan form.

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Title The Morphology of Barchan-shaped Sand Banks from Western Torres Strait, Northern Australia
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/56853071-b2cf-424b-861f-ce51d854e21d
Contact Point
Geoscience Australia Data
clientservices@ga.gov.au
Reference Period 22/04/2018
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
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Data Portal Data.gov.au