Shelf geography
This page should explain how the reef system occupies shallow marine space, how the chain relates to shelf margins and coast, and why its physical structure supports a dedicated marine branch in the atlas.
The Great Barrier Reef belongs in the atlas as a marine geography record defined by reef-chain extent, shelf position, shallow-water structure, and its relationship to an adjacent continental coastline.
This page should explain how the reef system occupies shallow marine space, how the chain relates to shelf margins and coast, and why its physical structure supports a dedicated marine branch in the atlas.