Looking at the satellite image of the island I can see a round pool like object on the south east end of the island. Is this a tidal pool or something left over from the Loran station (sewage pit?)
That object has never been given a name (that I'm aware of) and so the information about it has never been collected in one place.
From the
old Forum:Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 13:00:19 EST
From: Bill Carter
Subject: Ponds at SE tip
<I think his impression that they contained primarily
rainwater was incorrect. John Clauss? Bill Carter? Van Hunn? You guys
were down there this trip. Do you agree?>
When John and I were surveying the remains of the
Loran Station on September 11, we walked past the large roundish sunken area
that was devoid of vegetation and had some small pools of water in it. (I
took a photo of this area). The ground is dark brown almost black with what
I believe is (or was told) was some sort of fungus growing here. This area
also appears as a large brown patch on the sat photo. The area could (and
probably does) hold rainwater during a large rainstorm but the area is
positioned such that the primary source of water is overflow from the lagoon
and my guess is that most of the water in this area is salt water. Remember
that for mosquitoes to breed and live they need pools of fresh water. There
are no mosquitoes on Niku.
Bill Carter
#2313CE
Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 11:02:54 EST
From: John Clauss
Subject: Re: Rain water...
> There are two ponds where Laxton was, down at the southeast tip - a big one
> that dries occasionally and seems to be tidal, and another smaller one that
> has fish in it. I think his impression that they contained primarily
> rainwater was incorrect. John Clauss? Bill Carter? Van Hunn? You guys
> were down there this trip. Do you agree?
Yes, the water in the ponds is definitely tidal, following the lagoon level.
Because of the high tides, this last trip, we were able to observe the level
changes in the ponds.
John
Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 10:08:57 EST
From: Van Hunn
Subject: Re: Ponds at SE tip
In reference to the ponds at SE tip, Christian D wrote:
<<I'm surprised no Tighar tasted the water. I, for one, always do.>>
Surely he is joking about doing taste-tests on strange bodies of water. The
small amount of water in the shallow pond was the color of coffee, while
water in the pond with fish was the color of dark tea.
I agree with John that both ponds are tidal and salty. I believe both ponds
are also overwashed by the lagoon during very high tides or storm surges.
Van
Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2001 11:02:55 EST
From: Christian D
Subject: Re: Ponds at SE tip
<<I'm surprised no Tighar tasted the water. I, for one, always do.>>
Van Hunn wrote:
> Surely he is joking about doing taste-tests on strange bodies of water.
NO! I certainly wasn't! Just what I did on Kanton, Xmas, Funafuti, Palmyra,
etc...
Regards
Christian D.
***************************************************************************
From Ric
Are you familar with the term "crazy brave?"