ABSTRACT
The 43 Indonesian atolls described in this chapter are located primarily around the island of Sulawesi in the Gulf of Tomini to the north, the Banggai Islands to the east, the Tukang Besi Islands to the southeast, the Banda and Flores seas to the south, and the Makassar Strait to the southwest. In addition, a few atolls occur near the Island of Halmahera to the northeast of Sulawesi and on the coast of northeast Kalimantan (Borneo). Atolls here are mostly protected from storm waves and swell by islands, and their equatorial position minimizes the occurrence of cyclones; as such, waves are generally small and wind-generated, changing with the monsoon. Tides vary considerably across the expansive area, ranging from less than 1.2 m to more than 2.4 m. Most atolls are submerged and include a wide array of shapes and sizes. The primary movement of seawater through the archipelago is regulated by the Indonesian–Australian monsoonal winds that maintain a southbound flow, about 80% of which passes from the semi-enclosed Sulawesi and Sulu seas, through the Makassar Strait west of Sulawesi, then eastward into the Flores and Banda seas. These waters then flow to the east inside the Banda Island arc and then exit to the Indian Ocean as the Indonesian Throughflow.
