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  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS029-E-29638 Date: Oct. 2011
Geographic Region: AUSTRALIA-WA
Feature: IMPERIEUSE REEF, CLERKE REEF, AND MERMAID REEF OF ROWLEY SHOALS

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  Rowley Shoals, Timor Sea

This astronaut photograph highlights the trio of coral reef atolls known as Rowley Shoals, located in the southwestern Timor Sea. Three reef areas make up the shoals--extending approximately 100 kilometers from northeast to southwest, they are Mermaid Reef, Clerke Reef, and Imperieuse Reef. Only Clerke Reef and Imperieuse Reef have white sandy islets (or cays) that remain above water. Imperieuse Reef also has the only permanent man-made structure- a lighthouse located on Cunningham Islet, a cay at the northern end of the reef. Thin patchy cloud cover is visible at image lower right and at image top.

Rowley Shoals is located off the northwestern Australia coastline, approximately 300 km west of the city of Broome. Since the late 1970s, fishing and diving expeditions--based in Broome--have frequented the atolls of the Shoals. Clerke and Imperieuse Reefs are part of the Rowley Shoals Marine Park established in 1990. Mermaid Reef is also managed as the Mermaid Reef Marine National Nature Reserve (established in 1991).

The biodiversity of the atolls is impressive, with 233 coral species and 688 fish species more typical of Southeast Asia than other Western Australian reef ecosystems. Species include staghorn coral, giant clams, giant potato cod, maori wrasse, mackerel and tuna. In addition, Bedwell Island (a cay in Clerke Reef) hosts a colony of red-tailed tropicbirds as well as species of shearwaters, sea-eagles, terns, plovers, and egrets.
 
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Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 124k
Mission: ISS029  
Roll - Frame: E - 29638
Geographical Name: AUSTRALIA-WA  
Features: IMPERIEUSE REEF, CLERKE REEF, AND MERMAID REEF OF ROWLEY SHOALS  
Center Lat x Lon: 17.3S x 119.3E
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera: N2
 
Camera Tilt: 34   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 100  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: SW   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number: 2012  
 
Date: 20111018   YYYYMMDD
Time: 064313   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 15.8S  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 121.0E  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 272   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 203   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 45   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views: ISLAND  
Water Views: REEF, SEA  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views:  
City Views: BROOME  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


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