Hobsons Bay schoolchildren photographed this week’s king tides in the bay as part of a project to map Australia’s changing coastline.
King tides, the highest of the year, are caused by the alignment of the earth, the sun and the moon. This is the third year Hobsons Bay council has paired with Green Cross, an organisation founded by former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev, for the ‘Witness King Tides’ project.
When king tides hit, Green Cross asks coastal communities around Australia to photograph local landmarks during the high tide so future generations can map the rise in sea level and Australia’s changing coastline.
Snappers are asked to record the exact time, date and location before posting photos online. The council invited students from St Mary’s Primary School and Mount St Joseph Girls’ College to take photos on Wednesday at Laverton estuary and Shelly Beach in Williamstown.
It will be a week of high tides, peaking at 4.15pm this Wednesday, 4.58pm on Thursday, 5.37pm on Friday, 6.14pm on Saturday, 6.49pm on Sunday, 7.35pm on Monday, 8.01pm on Tuesday and 8.39pm next Wednesday.
Previous king tides in Hobsons Bay have varied from flooding the Esplanade at Altona beach to barely causing a ripple.
To check out king tide photos or upload your own, visit www.witnesskingtides.org.
