Funamanu is an example of an island on an atoll that is mainly composed of coral debris eroded from encircling reefs and pushed up onto the island by winds and waves. Paul Kench at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and Arthur Webb at the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission in Fiji released a study in 2010 on the dynamic response of reef islands to sea level rise in the central Pacific. Funamanu was mentioned in the study as being one of seven islands on the atolls of Tuvalu that have spread by more than 3 per cent on average since the 1950s. Funamanu gained 0.44 hectares, or nearly 30 per cent of its previous area.
The storm surge resulting from a tropical cyclone can dramatically shift coral debris. In 1972 Funafuti was in the path of Cyclone Bebe. Tropical Cyclone Bebe was a pre-season tropical cyclone that impacted the Gilbert Islands, Tuvalu, and Fiji island groups.Bureau of Meteorology (1975) Tropical Cyclones in the Northern Australian Regions 1971-1972 Australian Government Publishing Service First spotted on October 20, the system intensified and grew in size through October 22.
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