100-650: The Queensland Maritime Museum is located on the southern bank of the Brisbane River just south of the South Bank Parklands and Queensland Cultural Centre precinct of Brisbane , and close to the Goodwill Bridge . The museum was founded in 1971 and contains a two-level exhibition building presenting historic sailing ship models together with merchant shipping from early cargo ships to modern container ships, tankers and cruise liners. It
200-677: A day were similar, but at springs the tides rose 7 feet (2.1 m) in the morning but 9 feet (2.7 m) in the evening. Pierre-Simon Laplace formulated a system of partial differential equations relating the ocean's horizontal flow to its surface height, the first major dynamic theory for water tides. The Laplace tidal equations are still in use today. William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin , rewrote Laplace's equations in terms of vorticity which allowed for solutions describing tidally driven coastally trapped waves, known as Kelvin waves . Others including Kelvin and Henri Poincaré further developed Laplace's theory. Based on these developments and
300-445: A day—is a third regular category. Tides vary on timescales ranging from hours to years due to a number of factors, which determine the lunitidal interval . To make accurate records, tide gauges at fixed stations measure water level over time. Gauges ignore variations caused by waves with periods shorter than minutes. These data are compared to the reference (or datum) level usually called mean sea level . While tides are usually
400-523: A few days after (or before) new and full moon and are highest around the equinoxes, though Pliny noted many relationships now regarded as fanciful. In his Geography , Strabo described tides in the Persian Gulf having their greatest range when the moon was furthest from the plane of the Equator. All this despite the relatively small amplitude of Mediterranean basin tides. (The strong currents through
500-523: A natural tidal limit of only 16 km (10 mi). The current tidal limit now extends 85 km (53 mi) upstream due to continual channel dredging. The first bridge built across the Brisbane River was the original timber Victoria Bridge , opened in 1865 between Brisbane and South Brisbane. The current concrete Victoria Bridge is the 4th to be built on the site, the original bridge collapsed after marine borers weakened its timber piles, and
600-516: A smooth sphere covered by a sufficiently deep ocean under the tidal force of a single deforming body is a prolate spheroid (essentially a three-dimensional oval) with major axis directed toward the deforming body. Maclaurin was the first to write about the Earth's rotational effects on motion. Euler realized that the tidal force's horizontal component (more than the vertical) drives the tide. In 1744 Jean le Rond d'Alembert studied tidal equations for
700-441: A somewhat reluctant guide, entered the river and sailed upstream as far as present-day Goodna . Oxley noted the abundant fish and tall pine trees . Early European explorers marvelled at the sheer natural beauty they witnessed while travelling up the lower reaches. Reports by early European explorers such as Allan Cunningham and Oxley indicate rainforest once fringed the Brisbane River and its major tributaries, especially on
800-478: A suitable new site for a convict settlement to be established. An entry in Oxley's diary on 19 November 1823 describes his surprise meeting with one of the shipwrecked men: By that time Pamphlett and Finnegan were living with natives near Bribie Island . Parsons, who had continued to travel north in search of Sydney, was picked up by Oxley on 11 September 1824. On 2 December 1823, Oxley and Stirling, with Finnegan as
900-526: A system of pulleys to add together six harmonic time functions. It was "programmed" by resetting gears and chains to adjust phasing and amplitudes. Similar machines were used until the 1960s. The first known sea-level record of an entire spring–neap cycle was made in 1831 on the Navy Dock in the Thames Estuary . Many large ports had automatic tide gauge stations by 1850. John Lubbock was one of
1000-534: A timber getting mission to Illawarra, Thomas Pamphlett , John Finnegan , Richard Parsons and John Thompson were blown north by a storm. They went 21 days without water, continuing north in the belief they had been blown south, during which time Thompson died. They landed on Moreton Island on 16 April and made it to the mainland on the south of the Brisbane River. They immediately began trekking north in order to return to Sydney, still believing themselves to be somewhere south of Jervis Bay. Subsequently, they became
1100-455: Is a useful concept. Tidal stage is also measured in degrees, with 360° per tidal cycle. Lines of constant tidal phase are called cotidal lines , which are analogous to contour lines of constant altitude on topographical maps , and when plotted form a cotidal map or cotidal chart . High water is reached simultaneously along the cotidal lines extending from the coast out into the ocean, and cotidal lines (and hence tidal phases) advance along
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#17327806720481200-399: Is also provided about how lighthouse technology developed from the early oil wick burners to the modern equipment used in the present day. The former Bulwer Island Light , which operated at Bulwer Island at the mouth of the Brisbane River from 1912 to 1983, is on display outside the museum. It is a white, octagonal wooden tower covered with corrugated iron sheets, and the roof of lantern
1300-613: Is also provided about some of the 1,500 plus shipwrecks that have occurred along the Queensland coast including the Great Barrier Reef . The 121 feet (37 m) steam tug Forceful , the only remaining working coal-fired steam tug in Queensland , is berthed at the museum wharf and there are regular sailings down the Brisbane River. It was built in 1925 by Alex Stephen & Son Ltd., Glasgow , Scotland . In 1941 it
1400-422: Is at once cotidal with high and low waters, which is satisfied by zero tidal motion. (The rare exception occurs when the tide encircles an island, as it does around New Zealand, Iceland and Madagascar .) Tidal motion generally lessens moving away from continental coasts, so that crossing the cotidal lines are contours of constant amplitude (half the distance between high and low water) which decrease to zero at
1500-597: Is housed in the building used for the “Pavilion of Promise” at World Expo 88 , and the South Brisbane Dry Dock which was built in the 1870s and was 313 feet (95 m) long and 60 feet (18 m) wide. In 1887 the dock was extended to 430 feet (131 m) due to the increasing size of vessels. The museum also includes a library that stocks documents, pictures and other relevant artifacts relating to maritime history. There are several maps that show how early navigators created accurate charts. Information
1600-700: Is in the South Brisbane Dry Dock (Graving Dock), and on board, visitors can view the museum's collection of Australian Naval memorabilia. Another WW2 vessel located at the museum is the Torres Strait type of pearling lugger , "Penguin", which was used by the Americans during WW2, along with the dinghy from General Douglas MacArthur's motor Yacht "Shangri-La". Also visible is the Light Ship Carpentaria. Information
1700-497: Is never time for the fluid to "catch up" to the state it would eventually reach if the tidal force were constant—the changing tidal force nonetheless causes rhythmic changes in sea surface height. When there are two high tides each day with different heights (and two low tides also of different heights), the pattern is called a mixed semi-diurnal tide . The changing distance separating the Moon and Earth also affects tide heights. When
1800-408: Is not necessarily when the Moon is nearest to zenith or nadir , but the period of the forcing still determines the time between high tides. Because the gravitational field created by the Moon weakens with distance from the Moon, it exerts a slightly stronger than average force on the side of the Earth facing the Moon, and a slightly weaker force on the opposite side. The Moon thus tends to "stretch"
1900-510: Is not the case due to the free fall of the whole Earth, not only the oceans, towards these bodies) a different pattern of tidal forces would be observed, e.g. with a much stronger influence from the Sun than from the Moon: The solar gravitational force on the Earth is on average 179 times stronger than the lunar, but because the Sun is on average 389 times farther from the Earth, its field gradient
2000-606: Is red. Also displayed are the original lens of Archer Point Light , the pedestal and gearbox of Bustard Head Light , and the lens and apparatus from Cape Don Light in the Northern Territory . 27°28′55″S 153°1′34″E / 27.48194°S 153.02611°E / -27.48194; 153.02611 Brisbane River The Brisbane River ( Turrbal : Maiwar ) is the longest river in South East Queensland , Australia, and flows through
2100-402: Is shorter than average, and stronger tidal currents than average. Neaps result in less extreme tidal conditions. There is about a seven-day interval between springs and neaps. Tidal constituents are the net result of multiple influences impacting tidal changes over certain periods of time. Primary constituents include the Earth's rotation, the position of the Moon and Sun relative to the Earth,
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#17327806720482200-412: Is the river's first underground crossing for road transport. The Moggill Ferry continues to provide a crossing for vehicles northeast of Ipswich . The Albert Bridge was the first railway crossing of the Brisbane River, opened in 1876. It was destroyed in the 1893 flood and replaced by a 2 span design that is flood tolerant. A second bridge was built adjacent to it, opened in 1957 in conjunction with
2300-419: Is the time required for the Earth to rotate once relative to the Moon. Simple tide clocks track this constituent. The lunar day is longer than the Earth day because the Moon orbits in the same direction the Earth spins. This is analogous to the minute hand on a watch crossing the hour hand at 12:00 and then again at about 1: 05 + 1 ⁄ 2 (not at 1:00). The Moon orbits the Earth in the same direction as
2400-701: The Bunya Mountains , which are the headwaters of the river's longest tributary Cooyar Creek. Water from the highest point in the catchment has fallen on the Bunya Mountains, 992m above sea level. The junction of Cooyar Creek and Brisbane River is south of Avoca Vale , and the river then makes its way south past townships including Linville , Moore and Toogoolawah before being joined by the Stanley River , just south of Somerset Dam . The river runs from there into Lake Wivenhoe , created by
2500-519: The Commissariat Store, Brisbane were built by convicts using tuff from this quarry. After the penal settlement was closed, the Petrie family leased the cliffs and quarried the tuff for use in their construction projects, but ultimately quarrying this material became uneconomic without the free labour of the convicts. The volcanic rock Ignimbrite which formed the cliffs was deposited in
2600-606: The Coriolis effect , is generally clockwise in the southern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere. The difference of cotidal phase from the phase of a reference tide is the epoch . The reference tide is the hypothetical constituent "equilibrium tide" on a landless Earth measured at 0° longitude, the Greenwich meridian. In the North Atlantic, because the cotidal lines circulate counterclockwise around
2700-722: The Euripus Strait and the Strait of Messina puzzled Aristotle .) Philostratus discussed tides in Book Five of The Life of Apollonius of Tyana . Philostratus mentions the moon, but attributes tides to "spirits". In Europe around 730 AD, the Venerable Bede described how the rising tide on one coast of the British Isles coincided with the fall on the other and described the time progression of high water along
2800-552: The Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun ) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables can be used for any given locale to find the predicted times and amplitude (or " tidal range "). The predictions are influenced by many factors including the alignment of the Sun and Moon, the phase and amplitude of the tide (pattern of tides in the deep ocean),
2900-530: The North Sea . Much later, in the late 20th century, geologists noticed tidal rhythmites , which document the occurrence of ancient tides in the geological record, notably in the Carboniferous . The tidal force produced by a massive object (Moon, hereafter) on a small particle located on or in an extensive body (Earth, hereafter) is the vector difference between the gravitational force exerted by
3000-559: The Seventeen Mile Rocks were completely removed in 1965 after numerous partially successful attempts in the past. The northern river bank at the mouth of the river has undergone reclamation projects over the years, especially in the suburbs of Hamilton and Pinkenba . More recently, extensive facilities for the Port of Brisbane have been constructed on Fisherman's Island which has also seen significant land reclamation into
3100-407: The Stanley River . On the southside Bulimba Creek , Norman Creek , Oxley Creek , Bremer River and Lockyer Creek waterways enter the Brisbane River. The following smaller creeks also flow into the river; Cressbrook Creek, Cooyar Creek, Cubberla Creek, Black Snake Creek, Wolston Creek, Woogaroo Creek, Goodna Creek, Six Mile Creek, Pullen Pullen Creek and Kholo Creek. Before European settlement,
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3200-495: The Triassic period about 220 million years ago. They currently form the banks of the Brisbane River. A number of the reaches of the Brisbane River are named, including the following listed below (from upstream to downstream), together with their location relative to tributaries of the river and river crossings : The following major tributaries flow into the Brisbane River from the north; Breakfast Creek , Moggill Creek and
3300-554: The University of Queensland St Lucia campus), and the Jack Pesch Bridge between Indooroopilly and Chelmer . The Brisbane City Council has announced plans for a pedestrian and cycle only bridge between Kangaroo Point and the city. The Brisbane City Council has developed a network of riverwalk pavements along the banks of the Brisbane River. The Riverwalk runs along much of the Brisbane River foreshore throughout
3400-447: The amphidromic systems of the oceans, and the shape of the coastline and near-shore bathymetry (see Timing ). They are however only predictions, the actual time and height of the tide is affected by wind and atmospheric pressure . Many shorelines experience semi-diurnal tides—two nearly equal high and low tides each day. Other locations have a diurnal tide—one high and low tide each day. A "mixed tide"—two uneven magnitude tides
3500-404: The capsize of the ferry Pearl (which struck the anchor chain of the government yacht Lucinda ) with the loss of around 40 lives. By 1928, due to the early settlement of Brisbane, the water quality had deteriorated to the point where several public baths had to cease sourcing water from the river. Yet even up to the 1930s, the water was said to be very clear, with reports of people seeing
3600-494: The higher low water and the lower low water . The daily inequality is not consistent and is generally small when the Moon is over the Equator . The following reference tide levels can be defined, from the highest level to the lowest: The semi-diurnal range (the difference in height between high and low waters over about half a day) varies in a two-week cycle. Approximately twice a month, around new moon and full moon when
3700-440: The lunar theory of E W Brown describing the motions of the Moon, Arthur Thomas Doodson developed and published in 1921 the first modern development of the tide-generating potential in harmonic form: Doodson distinguished 388 tidal frequencies. Some of his methods remain in use. From ancient times, tidal observation and discussion has increased in sophistication, first marking the daily recurrence, then tides' relationship to
3800-537: The Aboriginal people of the Brisbane area did not have a single name for the river, but rather they named individual reaches and bends. The Brisbane River East and West branches traditionally have their headwaters in the ranges east of Kingaroy . The two branches merge into a single watercourse south of Mount Stanley. Using an alternative modern definition, the source is located at the top of Fig Tree Gully in
3900-405: The Brisbane River has been dredged for navigation purposes. Throughout much of the 20th century large quantities of sand and gravel were extracted from the estuary of the river. Since the rate of materials being deposited is not as high as that which was removed, the river has acted as a subaqueous mine . In 1865, water police were stationed on board Proserpine , a hulk moored at the mouth of
4000-408: The Brisbane River has the potential to be devastating, as documented in 1974, 2011 and 2022. For much of the river's length its banks are relatively high, but topped by a broad plain. The river's meandering course means that flood waters from upstream cannot be quickly discharged into Moreton Bay. Thus higher than normal flows cause river levels to rise rapidly and once the top of the banks are breached
4100-530: The Brisbane River was spiritually important and a vital food source for the Aboriginal people of the Turrbal people, primarily through fishing in the tidal sections downstream. Additionally, fishing and fire-stick farming took place in the upper reaches of the river where there was freshwater, in some seasons. Four European navigators , namely James Cook , Matthew Flinders , John Bingle and William Edwardson , all visited Moreton Bay but failed to discover
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4200-456: The Brisbane River. In 1866, there was a breakwater built at the junction of the Bremer and Brisbane rivers that was designed to stop shingle from blocking the access to the Bremer's boat channel. The first pile light using kerosene was built in 1882. The steel framed light also served as an early port signal station . In February 1896, one of the river's worst disasters occurred with
4300-426: The Earth rotates on its axis, so it takes slightly more than a day—about 24 hours and 50 minutes—for the Moon to return to the same location in the sky. During this time, it has passed overhead ( culmination ) once and underfoot once (at an hour angle of 00:00 and 12:00 respectively), so in many places the period of strongest tidal forcing is the above-mentioned, about 12 hours and 25 minutes. The moment of highest tide
4400-419: The Earth slightly along the line connecting the two bodies. The solid Earth deforms a bit, but ocean water, being fluid, is free to move much more in response to the tidal force, particularly horizontally (see equilibrium tide ). As the Earth rotates, the magnitude and direction of the tidal force at any particular point on the Earth's surface change constantly; although the ocean never reaches equilibrium—there
4500-586: The Earth's accumulated dynamic tidal response to the applied forces, which response is influenced by ocean depth, the Earth's rotation, and other factors. In 1740, the Académie Royale des Sciences in Paris offered a prize for the best theoretical essay on tides. Daniel Bernoulli , Leonhard Euler , Colin Maclaurin and Antoine Cavalleri shared the prize. Maclaurin used Newton's theory to show that
4600-427: The Moon and its phases. Bede starts by noting that the tides rise and fall 4/5 of an hour later each day, just as the Moon rises and sets 4/5 of an hour later. He goes on to emphasise that in two lunar months (59 days) the Moon circles the Earth 57 times and there are 114 tides. Bede then observes that the height of tides varies over the month. Increasing tides are called malinae and decreasing tides ledones and that
4700-626: The Moon is at first quarter or third quarter, the Sun and Moon are separated by 90° when viewed from the Earth (in quadrature ), and the solar tidal force partially cancels the Moon's tidal force. At these points in the lunar cycle, the tide's range is at its minimum; this is called the neap tide , or neaps . "Neap" is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "without the power", as in forðganges nip (forth-going without-the-power). Neap tides are sometimes referred to as quadrature tides . Spring tides result in high waters that are higher than average, low waters that are lower than average, " slack water " time that
4800-459: The Moon is closest, at perigee , the range increases, and when it is at apogee , the range shrinks. Six or eight times a year perigee coincides with either a new or full moon causing perigean spring tides with the largest tidal range . The difference between the height of a tide at perigean spring tide and the spring tide when the moon is at apogee depends on location but can be large as a foot higher. These include solar gravitational effects,
4900-462: The Moon on the particle, and the gravitational force that would be exerted on the particle if it were located at the Earth's center of mass. Whereas the gravitational force subjected by a celestial body on Earth varies inversely as the square of its distance to the Earth, the maximal tidal force varies inversely as, approximately, the cube of this distance. If the tidal force caused by each body were instead equal to its full gravitational force (which
5000-457: The Moon's altitude (elevation) above the Earth's Equator, and bathymetry . Variations with periods of less than half a day are called harmonic constituents . Conversely, cycles of days, months, or years are referred to as long period constituents. Tidal forces affect the entire earth , but the movement of solid Earth occurs by mere centimeters. In contrast, the atmosphere is much more fluid and compressible so its surface moves by kilometers, in
5100-449: The Moon. Abu Ma'shar discussed the effects of wind and Moon's phases relative to the Sun on the tides. In the 12th century, al-Bitruji (d. circa 1204) contributed the notion that the tides were caused by the general circulation of the heavens. Simon Stevin , in his 1608 De spiegheling der Ebbenvloet ( The theory of ebb and flood ), dismissed a large number of misconceptions that still existed about ebb and flood. Stevin pleaded for
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#17327806720485200-684: The Northumbrian coast. The first tide table in China was recorded in 1056 AD primarily for visitors wishing to see the famous tidal bore in the Qiantang River . The first known British tide table is thought to be that of John Wallingford, who died Abbot of St. Albans in 1213, based on high water occurring 48 minutes later each day, and three hours earlier at the Thames mouth than upriver at London . In 1614 Claude d'Abbeville published
5300-459: The River. Past floods have resulted in both deepening and reduction in river depth, creation of new sand banks and shoals as well as increased transport of suspended sediment from upstream. Before the invention of modern dredging techniques the sediment deposited by flooding created hazards to ships navigating the river. Even medium-sized vessels no longer travel up the Brisbane River beyond
5400-531: The Sun and moon. Pytheas travelled to the British Isles about 325 BC and seems to be the first to have related spring tides to the phase of the moon. In the 2nd century BC, the Hellenistic astronomer Seleucus of Seleucia correctly described the phenomenon of tides in order to support his heliocentric theory. He correctly theorized that tides were caused by the moon , although he believed that
5500-420: The Sun, Moon, and Earth form a line (a configuration known as a syzygy ), the tidal force due to the Sun reinforces that due to the Moon. The tide's range is then at its maximum; this is called the spring tide . It is not named after the season , but, like that word, derives from the meaning "jump, burst forth, rise", as in a natural spring . Spring tides are sometimes referred to as syzygy tides . When
5600-531: The Two Chief World Systems , whose working title was Dialogue on the Tides , gave an explanation of the tides. The resulting theory, however, was incorrect as he attributed the tides to the sloshing of water caused by the Earth's movement around the Sun. He hoped to provide mechanical proof of the Earth's movement. The value of his tidal theory is disputed. Galileo rejected Kepler's explanation of
5700-569: The Wivenhoe Dam. Beyond the dam, the river meanders eastward, meeting the Bremer River near Ipswich , then making its way through Brisbane's western suburbs, including Jindalee , Indooroopilly and Toowong . The Brisbane River then flows past wharves including Pinkenba Wharf and Portside Wharf , past Bulwer Island and Luggage Point through the Port of Brisbane and into southern Bramble Bay an embayment of Moreton Bay . On
5800-423: The amphidromic point, the high tide passes New York Harbor approximately an hour ahead of Norfolk Harbor. South of Cape Hatteras the tidal forces are more complex, and cannot be predicted reliably based on the North Atlantic cotidal lines. Investigation into tidal physics was important in the early development of celestial mechanics , with the existence of two daily tides being explained by the Moon's gravity. Later
5900-429: The amphidromic point. For a semi-diurnal tide the amphidromic point can be thought of roughly like the center of a clock face, with the hour hand pointing in the direction of the high water cotidal line, which is directly opposite the low water cotidal line. High water rotates about the amphidromic point once every 12 hours in the direction of rising cotidal lines, and away from ebbing cotidal lines. This rotation, caused by
6000-558: The area to locate a new penal settlement. The name is of Scottish origin, dating from at least 1643, from their family lands at Rothiebrisbane, Aberdeenshire . This is the name now used by the Queensland Government. Maiwar is the name of the river in the Turrbal language (the language of an Aboriginal group native to the Brisbane area). The name is also used for the inner-western state electorate of Maiwar . According to Archibald Meston and Tom Petrie in 1901,
6100-479: The atmosphere which did not include rotation. In 1770 James Cook 's barque HMS Endeavour grounded on the Great Barrier Reef . Attempts were made to refloat her on the following tide which failed, but the tide after that lifted her clear with ease. Whilst she was being repaired in the mouth of the Endeavour River Cook observed the tides over a period of seven weeks. At neap tides both tides in
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#17327806720486200-431: The bay. Early rivers crossings were made using small oared boat ferries , beginning in 1843, followed by steam ferries. In 1865 the first Victoria Bridge , later destroyed in a flood, was built across the river. Professor Hawken of the University of Queensland undertook a study in 1914 to identify the future crossing points for the river. Historically, the Brisbane River contained upstream bars and shallows and had
6300-413: The broader floodplains such as St Lucia and Seventeen Mile Rocks . The coastal lowlands were extensively vegetated with Melaleuca woodlands in low lying, poorly drained coastal areas. When first described by Europeans, the lower reaches of the Brisbane River were fringed by a mosaic of open forest, closed forest and rainforest. In the same year of 1823, the river was named after Sir Thomas Brisbane ,
6400-522: The city of Brisbane , before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea . John Oxley , the first European to explore the river, named it after the Governor of New South Wales , Sir Thomas Brisbane in 1823. The penal colony of Moreton Bay later adopted the same name, eventually becoming the present city of Brisbane. The river is a tidal estuary and the water is brackish from its mouth through
6500-488: The city reach, and dredging of the upper reaches has ceased, allowing the river to recover substantially from the fine silt dislodged by gravel and sand extraction. Significant floods have occurred several times since the European settlement of Brisbane. There have been 12 Major flood peaks (over 3.5m) recorded at the Brisbane gauge since records began in 1841, including: Post construction of Wivenhoe Dam Flooding along
6600-410: The coast. Semi-diurnal and long phase constituents are measured from high water, diurnal from maximum flood tide. This and the discussion that follows is precisely true only for a single tidal constituent. For an ocean in the shape of a circular basin enclosed by a coastline, the cotidal lines point radially inward and must eventually meet at a common point, the amphidromic point . The amphidromic point
6700-480: The daily tides were explained more precisely by the interaction of the Moon's and the Sun's gravity. Seleucus of Seleucia theorized around 150 BC that tides were caused by the Moon. The influence of the Moon on bodies of water was also mentioned in Ptolemy 's Tetrabiblos . In De temporum ratione ( The Reckoning of Time ) of 725 Bede linked semidurnal tides and the phenomenon of varying tidal heights to
6800-472: The first known Europeans to discover the river, stumbling across it somewhere near the entrance. They walked upstream along its banks for nearly a month before making their first crossing at Canoe Reach, the junction of Oxley Creek. It was here they stole a small canoe left by the Turrbal people of the region. John Oxley was Surveyor General of New South Wales when, in the same year and under orders from Governor Brisbane, he sailed into Moreton Bay looking for
6900-479: The first pilots were commissioned to guide ships entering from Moreton Bay and another service for those travelling upstream. Flying boats used the waters of the river in Pinkenba , to take-off for domestic and international destinations in the 1930s. The river depth was progressively increased and narrow points widened to allow larger vessels into the river and further upstream. For navigation and safety reasons
7000-538: The first to map co-tidal lines, for Great Britain, Ireland and adjacent coasts, in 1840. William Whewell expanded this work ending with a nearly global chart in 1836. In order to make these maps consistent, he hypothesized the existence of a region with no tidal rise or fall where co-tidal lines meet in the mid-ocean. The existence of such an amphidromic point , as they are now known, was confirmed in 1840 by Captain William Hewett, RN , from careful soundings in
7100-496: The floodwaters can spread over wide areas of the city. There has been much dredging and widening work done over the years to allow ships to transport cargo to and from Brisbane the river is no longer dredged. The river served as an important carriageway between Brisbane and Ipswich before a railway linking the towns was built in 1875. By early 1825 buoys were being laid along the South Passage and shortly after that
7200-415: The idea that the attraction of the Moon was responsible for the tides and spoke in clear terms about ebb, flood, spring tide and neap tide , stressing that further research needed to be made. In 1609 Johannes Kepler also correctly suggested that the gravitation of the Moon caused the tides, which he based upon ancient observations and correlations. Galileo Galilei in his 1632 Dialogue Concerning
7300-529: The inner-city area, with the longest span running between Newstead and Toowong . Another popular stretch runs beneath the Kangaroo Point Cliffs between South Brisbane and Kangaroo Point . Several spans of the Riverwalk are built out over the Brisbane River. Tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by
7400-468: The interaction was mediated by the pneuma . He noted that tides varied in time and strength in different parts of the world. According to Strabo (1.1.9), Seleucus was the first to link tides to the lunar attraction, and that the height of the tides depends on the moon's position relative to the Sun. The Naturalis Historia of Pliny the Elder collates many tidal observations, e.g., the spring tides are
7500-411: The largest source of short-term sea-level fluctuations, sea levels are also subject to change from thermal expansion , wind, and barometric pressure changes, resulting in storm surges , especially in shallow seas and near coasts. Tidal phenomena are not limited to the oceans, but can occur in other systems whenever a gravitational field that varies in time and space is present. For example, the shape of
7600-595: The majority of the Brisbane metropolitan area westward to the Mount Crosby Weir . The river is wide and navigable throughout the Brisbane metropolitan area. The river travels 344 km (214 mi) from Mount Stanley. The river is dammed by the Wivenhoe Dam , forming Lake Wivenhoe , the main water supply for Brisbane. The waterway is a habitat for the rare Queensland lungfish , Brisbane River cod (extinct), and bull sharks . Early travellers along
7700-419: The moments of slack tide differ significantly from those of high and low water. Tides are commonly semi-diurnal (two high waters and two low waters each day), or diurnal (one tidal cycle per day). The two high waters on a given day are typically not the same height (the daily inequality); these are the higher high water and the lower high water in tide tables . Similarly, the two low waters each day are
7800-412: The month is divided into four parts of seven or eight days with alternating malinae and ledones . In the same passage he also notes the effect of winds to hold back tides. Bede also records that the time of tides varies from place to place. To the north of Bede's location ( Monkwearmouth ) the tides are earlier, to the south later. He explains that the tide "deserts these shores in order to be able all
7900-514: The more to be able to flood other [shores] when it arrives there" noting that "the Moon which signals the rise of tide here, signals its retreat in other regions far from this quarter of the heavens". Later medieval understanding of the tides was primarily based on works of Muslim astronomers , which became available through Latin translation starting from the 12th century. Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi (d. circa 886), in his Introductorium in astronomiam , taught that ebb and flood tides were caused by
8000-554: The most damaging flood on record occurred, causing the 66,000-tonne vessel Robert Miller (largest ship ever built on the river) to break free from its mooring. Other major floods occurred in January 2011 and February 2022 . Extensive port facilities have been constructed on the Fisherman Islands, now known as the Port of Brisbane , located at the mouth of the river on Moreton Bay . There are 16 major bridges that cross
8100-420: The obliquity (tilt) of the Earth's Equator and rotational axis, the inclination of the plane of the lunar orbit and the elliptical shape of the Earth's orbit of the Sun. A compound tide (or overtide) results from the shallow-water interaction of its two parent waves. Because the M 2 tidal constituent dominates in most locations, the stage or phase of a tide, denoted by the time in hours after high water,
8200-408: The problem from the perspective of a static system (equilibrium theory), that provided an approximation that described the tides that would occur in a non-inertial ocean evenly covering the whole Earth. The tide-generating force (or its corresponding potential ) is still relevant to tidal theory, but as an intermediate quantity (forcing function) rather than as a final result; theory must also consider
8300-478: The proposed Queensland Cultural Centre . The jets pushed the floodlit river water up to 75 m (246 ft) in the air. The floating fountain sank late on the 31 December 1984. 1987 was proclaimed the "Year of the River" by the Lord Mayor of Brisbane at the time, Sallyanne Atkinson . Over the 20th century, enough obstacles, sand and gravel had been removed from the river that its channel depth increased
8400-498: The purpose by Governor Sir Thomas Brisbane. Gray also transferred the soldiers and convicts from the First Settlement at Redcliffe at this time. The first small private wharves were built on the river in about 1848. and the once popular, shark-proof river baths were first built in 1857 at Kangaroo Point. By 1850, nearly all the prime alluvial lands in the Brisbane River valley had been taken up by settlers. From 1862
8500-601: The quadruplication of the railway between Roma Street and Corinda . The Merivale Bridge , opened in 1978, connects the South Brisbane railway system to the City. Four bridges have been built that cater for pedestrians and bicycles, being the Goodwill Bridge and Kurilpa Bridge in the City area, the Eleanor Schonell Bridge between Dutton Park and St Lucia (which also caters for public buses to
8600-519: The river bed 5 to 6 m (16 to 20 ft) below the surface. Swimming was once popular at Oxley Point under the Walter Taylor Bridge . In the middle tidal reaches in more recent times, visibility has been about 0.2 m (8 in). As Brisbane grew, the condition of the river worsened until at its worst it was no more than an open sewer and waste dump. The banks were cleared of timber and introduced animals and plants rapidly changed
8700-508: The river for the construction of buildings in the settlement". This was in the vicinity of Edward Street ferry terminal. Quarrying this volcanic rock formed part of the hard labour undertaken by the convicts of the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement , which not only provided the convicts with the punishment of hard labour but also provided the settlement with a useful building material. Many of the early buildings including
8800-565: The river's ecology to its detriment. On 25 March 1941, a USA goodwill flotilla arrived in the city docking at wharves along the River and built Naval Base Brisbane . The largest ship built on the river was the Robert Miller . Construction was near complete when the 66,000 tonne vessel became un-moored in the 1974 Brisbane flood . In 1977, Queen Elizabeth II switched on the Jubilee Fountain positioned in front of
8900-503: The river. The Clem Jones Tunnel , opened in 2010, is the river's first underground crossing for road transport. The CityCat and KittyCat ferry services deliver passengers along the inner-city reaches of the river. There are only 20 bullsharks documented to be seen in the Brisbane river to date. These were seen by Liel Daniel. In 1823 John Oxley named the river after the Governor Thomas Brisbane while surveying
9000-571: The river. The exploration by Flinders took place during his expedition from Port Jackson north to Hervey Bay in 1799. He spent a total of 15 days in the area, touching down at Woody Point and several other spots, but failed to discover the mouth of the river although there were suspicions of its existence. This is consistent with accounts of many other rivers along the east coast of Australia, which could not be found by seaward exploration but were discovered by inland travellers. On 21 March 1823, four ticket-of-leave convicts sailing south from Sydney on
9100-502: The second was destroyed in the 1893 flood . As of 2012 the Brisbane River is crossed by 16 major bridges (counting the new second Gateway, now Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge), including the historic 1940 Story Bridge and the tolled Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges . There are two other major bridges upstream (west) of Brisbane, on the D'Aguilar Highway and the Brisbane Valley Highway . The Clem Jones Tunnel , opened in 2010,
9200-448: The sense of the contour level of a particular low pressure in the outer atmosphere. In most locations, the largest constituent is the principal lunar semi-diurnal , also known as the M2 tidal constituent or M 2 tidal constituent . Its period is about 12 hours and 25.2 minutes, exactly half a tidal lunar day , which is the average time separating one lunar zenith from the next, and thus
9300-500: The solid part of the Earth is affected slightly by Earth tide , though this is not as easily seen as the water tidal movements. Four stages in the tidal cycle are named: Oscillating currents produced by tides are known as tidal streams or tidal currents . The moment that the tidal current ceases is called slack water or slack tide . The tide then reverses direction and is said to be turning. Slack water usually occurs near high water and low water, but there are locations where
9400-417: The southern side of the river, opposite Gardens Point , are the Kangaroo Point Cliffs ; made from Triassic aged volcanic rock of rhyolite composition called Brisbane tuff . The Kangaroo Point Cliffs were created by a quarrying operation that, according to Allan Cunninghams' Field Book, was underway prior to 1829 when he observed a "stone wharf presumably used for landing the blocks of stone ferried across
9500-586: The then Governor of New South Wales . Upon the establishment of a local settlement in 1824, other explorers such as Allan Cunningham, Patrick Logan and Major Edmund Lockyer made expeditions and surveys further upstream, and, in May 1825, the Moreton Bay penal colony at Redcliffe under the command of Heny Miller relocated to North Quay . The entrance to the Brisbane River was surveyed and marked with buoys in May 1825 by Pilot John M Gray sent from Sydney for
9600-414: The tidal flow and tidal range upstream. On 9 August 2020, it was discovered that Google Maps accidentally changed the Brisbane River name to Ithaca Creek after a complaint that Ithaca Creek was incorrectly named Brisbane River. The Brisbane River floods frequently, although the occurrence and magnitude of flooding has diminished following the construction of the Wivenhoe Dam on the upper reaches of
9700-494: The tides. Isaac Newton (1642–1727) was the first person to explain tides as the product of the gravitational attraction of astronomical masses. His explanation of the tides (and many other phenomena) was published in the Principia (1687) and used his theory of universal gravitation to explain the lunar and solar attractions as the origin of the tide-generating forces. Newton and others before Pierre-Simon Laplace worked
9800-421: The waterway admired the natural beauty, abundant fish and rich vegetation along its banks. From 1862 the Brisbane River has been dredged for navigation purposes. The river served as an important carriageway between Brisbane and Ipswich before a railway linking the towns was built in 1875. By the late 1920s, water quality in the river had significantly deteriorated. Multiple major floods occurred in 1893. In 1974,
9900-480: The work " Histoire de la mission de pères capucins en l'Isle de Maragnan et terres circonvoisines ", where he exposed that the Tupinambá people already had an understanding of the relation between the Moon and the tides before Europe. William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) led the first systematic harmonic analysis of tidal records starting in 1867. The main result was the building of a tide-predicting machine using
10000-551: Was chartered by the government for service in the Middle East, but did not sail because Japan entered World War II . She was then requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy and became known as HMAS Forceful . She was armed with a 20mm Oerlikon Machine Gun and a .303" Vickers machine gun. At present, she is laid up for repairs, estimated to reach around $ 250,000AUD. HMAS Diamantina , a River Class frigate
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