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Aldabra atoll3/22/2023 ![]() Nevertheless it may well provide useful facilities for aircraft.” Denis Healy, Minister of Defence, 1966 “As I understand it, the island of Aldabra is inhabited – like Her Majesty’s Opposition Front bench – by giant turtles, frigate birds and boobies. In the mid 1960s Aldabra was thrust into the international spotlight, being considered by the British Government as a possible air-staging outpost, with the threat of the construction of an airstrip and support facility. Early contributions regarding the flora and fauna, and indeed geomorphological structure, of Aldabra made it in 1910 one of the better known Indian Ocean reef islands. ![]() The scientific history of Aldabra encompasses almost 100 years of both terrestrial and marine based investigations. The main channel alone drains approximately 60% of the lagoon. Tidal range is 2 to 3 m and results in large exchanges of water between the lagoon and open ocean through the channels. The lagoon at Aldabra is linked to the ocean by two major and one smaller channels and by several smaller reef passages. Climate is heavily influenced by the NW monsoon winds from November to March bringing the heaviest rainfall, with SE trades blowing throughout the remainder of the year. ![]() Average rainfall, with Aldabra located in the relatively dry zone of the southwest Indian Ocean, is 1100mm per year. Aldabra has monthly mean maximum (December) and minmum (August) temperatures of 31✬ and 22✬ respectively. ![]() Many of the pits contain fresh or brackish water that sits on top of surrounding seawater as a lens and rises and falls with the tides. The limestone has been eroded over the years to form an dangerous terrain of sharp spiky rocks and numerous pits, making walking off established tracks unadvisable. Aldabra is formed from late Quaternary raised reef limestones, averaging 2km in width and up to 8m above sea level, and rimming a shallow central lagoon. ![]()
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