A meta‐analysis of reef island response to environmental change on the Great Barrier Reef

Reef islands on the Great Barrier Reef are influenced by a range of environmental factors. A meta‐analysis of 103 islands is presented to express variation in island size (area and volume) as a function of latitudinal and cross shelf gradients in regional oceanographic factors (exposure to incident waves, tidal range and tropical cyclone frequency) and local physical factors (position on the shelf, area, length and depth of supporting reef platform, vegetative cover). Models performed well for unvegetated sandcays (R² = 0.89), vegetated sandcays (R² = 0·72) and low wooded islands (R² = 0.78), with a moderate level of variation explained when all islands were simultaneously regressed (R² = 0.58). Future island dynamics were simulated for anticipated changes in cyclone regime, wave activity and sea level. For 38 islands mapped on the 1973 Royal Society and Universities of Queensland Expedition to the Northern Great Barrier Reef, change over the same 22 year period (1973–1995) was determined and the relative magnitude of observed and modelled changes was compared and found to be consistent through rank correlation analysis (Γ = 0.84 for unvegetated sandcays, Γ = 0.81 for vegetated sandcays). Simulations of island area or volume change from 2000 to 2100 indicated that under a 30% decrease in tropical cyclone activity, unvegetated sandcays continue to accrete at a lower rate, whereas all island types erode under a 38% increase in tropical cyclone activity. Vegetated sandcays initially accrete at higher levels of cyclone activity, entering an erosive state with a 60% increase in activity. Low wooded islands are unresponsive to environmental changes modelled. A sensitivity analysis of vegetated and unvegetated sandcays indicated that the presence of vegetation increases the tropical cyclone activity threshold at which islands begin to erode. Greatest sedimentary losses occur within the central band of high cyclone activity between Cooktown and Mackay. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The long-term stability of engineered landforms of the Ranger Uranium Mine,Northern Territory,Australia: application of a catchment evolution model

There is a need to assess the long-term stability of engineered landforms associated with the rehabilitation of Ranger Uranium Mine, Northern Territory, Australia, as it is a requirement that mill tailings must be contained for periods in excess of 1000 years. The geomorphic model, SIBERIA, is calibrated on hydrologic and erosion data collected by a combination of monitoring and rainfall simulation experiments on the waste rock dumps of Ranger. Preliminary analysis of Ranger's preferred above-grade option suggests that erosion of the order of 7 to 8 m will occur on the structure in a period of 1000 years. This depth of erosion may be sufficient to compromise the integrity of containment. It is shown that SIBERIA has significant advantages over steady-state erosion models. Suggestions are made for the design that will enhance the stability of the structure and extend the structural life of the containment. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

MODELLING CLIMATE,TOPOGRAPHY AND PALAEOGLACIER FLUCTUATIONS IN THE CHILEAN ANDES

A one-dimensional flowline model has been constructed, tested and applied to two formerly glaciated valley basins within the Chilean Lake District. The vertically integrated ice flow model is similar to those used to study historical fluctuations of European Alpine glaciers and includes terms for internal deformation and basal sliding. In addition, longitudinal deviatoric stresses are computed and velocity terms are correspondingly adjusted. The model is driven through a mass balance term forced by a stepped lowering of the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) through time. Experiments, based on generating equilibrium glacier surface profiles corresponding to various ELAs, indicate that a lowering of at least 1000 m of the ELA from its present-day position is required to simulate the glacial maximum. Furthermore, the specific geometry of the two valleys provides an important control on the extent of the two glaciers, effectively decoupling them from further climatic deterioration once they have advanced beyond the constraining influence of their valleys into the piedmont zone. The tight nesting of terminal moraine loops provides evidence for this topographical control on palaeoglacier extent. The modelled response and sensitivity of the two palaeoglaciers to climate change differ markedly as a result of contrasting valley geometry. Glaciers resting on steeper gradients tend to have thinner profiles, faster mass turnover times and correspondingly shorter volume time-scales. Puyehue glacier has a response time of c. 1000 years whereas the Rupanco glacier has a response time of c. 2000 years. Hence, Puyehue is more sensitive to climatic fluctuations occurring on a time-scale of 500–1000 years. Furthermore, the Rupanco glacier may lag or even fail to respond at all to climatic fluctuations at these time-scales, a conclusion substantiated by field evidence. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geomorphic controls on the physical and hydrologic properties of soils in a valley floor

The distribution of soil hydraulic and physical properties strongly influences runoff processes in landscapes. Although much work has been done to quantify and predict the properties of hillslope soils, far less is known about the distribution of soil properties in valley floors. A technique that links the estimation and distribution of soil hydraulic properties in valleys, with easily identified geomorphic features, was developed along a 2 km length of a valley at Brooks Creek in New South Wales, Australia. Soil physical and hydraulic property data were collected across a set of floodplain and fan features within the valley and analysed statistically to determine if soil properties varied significantly between geomorphic features and stratigraphic layers. The results show that the depth‐averaged saturated hydraulic conductivity, K_s, of the soil varies significantly with landform: fan units have K_g values that are twice that of floodplains and colluvial toeslope deposits have K_s values four times higher than floodplains. Given the notorious variability of K_s values in space, the strong statistical separation of soil properties by landform, backed up by strong separation of soil particle size by landform, suggests a way forward in understanding the distribution of soil properties in valleys and their influence on catchment hydrology. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Origin of a bouldery diamicton,Kunlun Pass,Qinghai-Xizang Plateau,People's Republic of China: gelifluction deposit or rock glacier?

On the west side of the military road to Tibet in the Kunlun Shan, a major body of diamicton is moving slowly downslope from the ridge crest at 4800 m in a northerly and easterly direction. The material is derived from Middle Pleistocene till deposits and the underlying Pliocene alluvial gravels. More than 10 per cent of the material is composed of boulders longer than 2 m, 45 per cent has long axes between 0·5 and 2 m, while the matrix is a poorly sorted sandy loam. The mean annual air temperature is −7°C to −5°C and the mean annual precipitation is under 300 mm a⁻¹. The diamicton lacks a vegetation cover, in contrast to meadow tundra on the surrounding slopes. The diamicton mantles the north slope of the ridge, but splits into at least 16 separate tongues which are moving down fluvially graded valleys. The average slope of the landform is about 19°, while the mean slope of the fronts of the tongues is 21°. With one exception, the slope of the fronts does not exceed 25°, unlike true rock glaciers. The diamicton is up to 40 m thick in valley 4. The active layer was 12 to 30 cm deep in July at 4780 m, increasing to 1·5 to 2 m at about 4650 m. Ice contents in the permafrost may reach 57 per cent but 30 per cent is more usual The larger boulders act as braking blocks on the upper slopes of the landform and are frozen into the permafrost. The lower parts of the landform move at under 3 cm a⁻¹, whereas the fine-grained material in the active layer moves past the braking blocks on the upper slopes at up to 30 cm a ⁻¹. There is no direct evidence for flowage of the icy diamicton forming the deposit. It is therefore best referred to as a gelifluction slope deposit, and is the longest and most spectacular of such deposits described so far in the world. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bio-geological processes of nitrogen transport and transformation in the aeration zone and aquifer

Abstract

Nitrate contamination in groundwater originates mainly from excessive use of fertilizers and uncontrolled discharge to land of incompletely-treated wastewater associated with agricultural activities. A systematic field investigation was carried out in a sub-catchment of Dianchi Lake, Kunming, Yunnan, China, into the hydrological, biological and geological processes of nitrogen transport and transformation in the aeration zone and aquifer system. In situ experiments showed that the quantity of NO₃-N recharged into groundwater was related to fertilization. Nitrification and denitrification behaved quite differently but were affected by moisture content and Eh value. The vertical infiltration rate was controlled by the groundwater table and hydraulic conductivity of the soil. The existence of a zero-flux plane reflected the dynamics of water fluxes in the soil profile and Eh was measured in the aeration zone. In response to these factors, the nitrification rate was greatest in the top soil and reduced with the depth of soil; it was 6.53 mg/(kg·h) in the vegetated plot and 0.2–0.3 mg/(kg·h) in the unvegetated one. The denitrification rate in the unvegetated plot was 6.36 mg/(kg·h), and it was 2.79 mg/(kg·h) in the vegetated one.     

Geomorphic and cosmogenic nuclide constraints on escarpment evolution in an intraplate setting,Darling Escarpment,Western Australia

The ～900 km long Darling Scarp in Western Australia is one of the most prominent linear topographic features on Earth. Despite the presence of over‐steepened reaches in all westerly flowing streams crossing the scarp, and significant seismic activity within 100 km of the scarp, there is no historical seismicity and no reported evidence for Quaternary tectonic displacements on the underlying Darling Fault. Consequently, it is unclear whether the scarp is a rapidly evolving landform responding to recent tectonic and/or climatic forcing or a more slowly evolving landform. In order to quantify late Quaternary rates of erosion and scarp relief processes, we obtained measurements of the cosmic‐ray produced nuclide beryllium‐10 (¹⁰Be) from outcropping bedrock surfaces along the scarp summit and face, in valley floors, and at stream knickpoints. Erosion rates of bedrock outcrops along the scarp summit surface range from 0·5 to 4·0 m Myr^?1. These are in the same range as erosion rates of 2·1 to 3·6 m Myr^?1 on the scarp face and similar to river incision rates of 2·6 to 11·0 m Myr^?1 from valley floor bedrock straths, indicating that the Darling Scarp is a slowly eroding ‘steady state’ landform, without any significant contemporary relief production over the last several 100 kyr and possibly several million years. Knickpoint retreat rates determined from ¹⁰Be concentrations at the bases of two knickpoints on small streams incised into the scarp are 36 and 46 m Myr^?1. If these erosion rates were sustained over longer timescales, then associated knickpoints may have initiated in the mid‐Tertiary to early Neogene, consistent with early‐mid Tertiary marginal uplift. Ongoing maintenance of stream disequilibrium longitudinal profiles is consistent with slow, regional base level lowering associated with recently proposed continental‐scale tilting, as opposed to differential uplift along discrete faults. Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be analysis provides a useful tool for interpreting the palaeoseismic history of intraplate near‐fault landforms over 10⁵ to 10⁶ years. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ecosystem carbon stocks across a tropical intertidal habitat mosaic of mangrove forest,seagrass meadow,mudflat and sandbar

Intertidal habitats provide numerous ecosystem services, including the sequestration and storage of carbon, a topic of great recent interest owing to land‐cover transitions and climate change. Mangrove forests and seagrass meadows form a continuum of intertidal habitats, alongside unvegetated mudflats and sandbars, however, studies that consider carbon stocks across these spatially‐linked, threatened ecosystems are limited world‐wide. This paper presents the results of a field‐based carbon stock assessment of aboveground, belowground and sediment organic carbon stock to a depth of 1 m at Chek Jawa, Singapore. It is the first study of ecosystem carbon stocks of both vegetated and unvegetated intertidal habitats in the tropics. Ecosystem carbon stocks were 497 Mg C ha^‐1 in the mangrove forest and 138 Mg C ha^‐1 in the seagrass meadow. Sediment organic carbon stock dominated the total storage in both habitats, constituting 62% and >99% in the mangrove forest and seagrass meadow, respectively. In the adjacent mudflat and sandbars, which had no vegetative components, sediment organic carbon stock ranged from 124–143 Mg C ha^‐1, suggesting that unvegetated habitats have a carbon storage role on the same order of importance as seagrass meadows. This study reinforces the importance of sediment in carbon storage within the intertidal ecosystem, and demonstrates the need to consider unvegetated habitats in intertidal ‘blue carbon’ stock assessments. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new chronology for the age of Appalachian erosional surfaces determined by cosmogenic nuclides in cave sediments

The relative chronology of landscape evolution across the unglaciated Appalachian plateaus of Kentucky and Tennessee is well documented. For more than a century, geomorphologists have carefully mapped and correlated upland erosional surfaces inset by wide‐valley straths and smaller terraces. Constraining the timing of river incision into the Appalachian uplands was difficult in the past due to unsuitable dating methods and poorly preserved surface materials. Today, burial dating using the differential decay of cosmogenic ²⁶Al and ¹⁰Be in clastic cave sediments reveals more than five million years of landscape evolution preserved underground. Multilevel caves linked hydrologically to the incision history of the Cumberland River contain in situ sediments equivalent to fluvial deposits found scattered across the Eastern Highland Rim erosional surface. Cave sediments correlate with: (1) thick Lafayette‐type gravels on the Eastern Highland Rim deposited between c. 5·7 and c. 3·5 Ma; (2) initial incision of the Cumberland River into the Eastern Highland Rim after c. 3·5 Ma; (3) formation of the Parker strath between c. 3·5 Ma and c. 2·0 Ma; (4) incision into the Parker strath at c. 2 Ma; (5) formation of a major terrace between c. 2·0 Ma and c. 1·5 Ma; (6) shorter cycles of accelerated incision and base level stability beginning at c. 1·5 Ma; and (7) regional aggradation at c. 0·85 Ma. Initial incision into the Appalachian uplands is interpreted as a response to eustasy at 3·2–3·1 Ma. Incision of the Parker strath is interpreted as a response to eustasy at 2·5–2·4 Ma. A third incision event at c. 1·5 Ma corresponds with glacial reorganization of the Ohio River basin. Widespread aggradation of cave passages at c. 0·85 Ma is interpreted as the beginning of intense glacial–interglacial cycling associated with global climate change. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Asymmetrical river valleys in response to tectonic tilting and strike‐slip faulting,northeast margin of Tibetan Plateau

The northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau, a particularly important area to understand the mechanism of plateau formation, is characterized by large transpressional arcuate faults. There is debate on the amount of Quaternary sinistral displacement on the major Haiyuan Fault. Previously unrecognized systemic asymmetrical valleys have developed between the Haiyuan and Xiangshan faults. Southeast tilting and sinistral displacement on the northeast side of the Haiyuan Fault resulted in southeast migration of large rivers and asymmetrical widening of their valleys, leaving a systematic distribution of tilted strath terraces along their northwest sides. Where asymmetrical widening created by tilting kept pace with sinistral displacement, rivers have not been deflected, and the increase in valley width downstream from the fault should equate to total lateral displacement since river formation (e.g. Yuan River, a 7 km asymmetrical valley with a c. 2.2 Ma paleomagnetic age). Where river deflection and asymmetrical valley growth are coeval, valley width is less than total horizontal displacement (e.g. Hebao River, a c. 2.1 km asymmetrical valley with c. 2 km deflection). All rivers north of the Haiyuan Fault converge to cut across the Xiangshan Mountains as a gorge. Northeast thrusting of the upthrown side of the Xiangshan Fault has resulted in degradation and related strath terrace formation as the valleys asymmetrically widened. A probable earthquake‐induced landslide caused by movement on the Xiangshan Fault in latest Pleistocene blocked the gorge causing aggradation along all rivers and their tributaries. Deposition terraces were formed after the landslide dam was breached. Together with previous research on the Xiangshan Fault, it is concluded that there has been c. 7 km of Quaternary sinistral displacement on the Haiyuan and Xiangshan faults along the northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau since the formation of rivers that intersect them. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

太湖人工生态系统中氮循环细菌分布

对太湖五里湖的以水生高等植物为主的湖泊人工生态系统,用最大可能数法,测定了该系统内各种生态类型水生高等植物群落内的４类氮循环细菌的分布。结果表明反硝化细菌的最大可能数,在水生高等植物群落内水体中较敞水区湖水高２－５个数量级差异极显著;漂服植物各落内水体的反硝化细菌ＭＰＮ值较沉水和浮叶植物群落内水体高２－３个数量级,差异极显著;     

Erosion of a cyclic saltmarsh in Morecambe Bay,North-West England

This paper presents results of investigations (1983–1992) into rates of change, morphology and processes occurring during the current erosional phase in a Morecambe Bay cyclic saltmarsh, in which it has narrowed from c. 1000 m (1975) to c. 150 m (1992). Monthly monitoring of marsh edge erosion and creek knickpoint retreat has revealed temporal and spatial variations. Highest frequency changes of low magnitude coincided with non-storm conditions and overmarsh tides above 5·80 m OD, which submerged the whole marsh. Less frequent changes of greater magnitude were associated with both overmarsh tides and strong onshore winds over 15 ms^?1, which generated high energy waves. The lowest frequency change of greatest magnitude occurred during an extreme onshore storm event and surge. Morphologically, during the erosional phase, a low angled landward slope was generated as erosion of the c. 0·5 m high active seaward cliff coincided with vertical accretion of 0·07 ma^?1 of relatively coarse sediment on the marsh surface immediately landward. Tidal hydrodynamics strongly influence the saltmarsh, which is confined to the upper 2·5 m of the macrotidal range (maximum c. 10·5 m). During overmarsh spring tides (maximum creek flood flow rate 0·13 ms^?1, up to bankfull level), flooding begins over lower landward creek banks before submerging the higher marsh edge. During ebb tides, water trapped by this higher edge can escape seaward only via the creeks (maximum ebb velocities 2·07 ms^?1 below bankfull level). Wave erosion also is limited to spring tides. Monthly mapping of the Kent Estuary channel pattern seaward of the saltmarsh showed that medium term higher erosion rates were related to the presence of a large channel, which lowered the adjacent creek base level and allowed larger waves to attack the marsh edge than when a sandbank flanked the marsh. Major River Kent channel shifts appear to initiate accretional or erosional phases of cyclic saltmarsh development.     

The use of a landscape simulator in the validation of the SIBERIA landscape evolution model: transient landforms

SIBERIA is a physically based model for the geomorphic evolution of landforms. It is essential that the SIBERIA model be tested or validated against controlled landform development. Previous studies have demonstrated that SIBERIA is able to simulate declining equilibrium landforms and in this paper we examine SIBERIA's ability to simulate landforms as they evolve to their declining equilibrium form. These landscapes are termed transient landforms. Landscapes generated by SIBERIA were compared to those produced by a physical model (experimental model landforms) at stages of evolution. Comparison of the experimental landscapes with the simulated landscapes using total mass, hypsometric curve, width function, cumulative area distribution and area–slope demonstrate that SIBERIA can simulate the experimental model landscape during development (i.e. transient landscapes). Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Erosion processes and landform evolution on agricultural land — new perspectives from caesium-137 measurements and topographic-based erosion modelling

Despite growing interest in soil erosion on agricultural land, relatively little attention has been paid to the influence of erosion processes on the pattern of contemporary landform evolution. This in part reflects the problems associated with up-scaling the results of short-term process studies to temporal and spatial scales relevant to the study of landform evolution. This paper presents a new approach to examining the influence of erosion processes on landform evolution on agricultural land which employs: caesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) measurements to provide medium-term (c. 40 years) estimates of rates of landform change; experimental data and a topographic-based model to simulate soil redistribution by tillage; a mass-balance model of ¹³⁷Cs redistribution to separate the water erosion and tillage components of the ¹³⁷Cs ‘signatures’; and field observations of water erosion for validation. This approach is used to examine the relative importance of water erosion and tillage processes for contemporary landform evolution at contrasting sites near Leuven, in Belgium, and near Yanan, in Shaanxi Province, China. This application of the approach provides good agreement between the derived water erosion rates and field observations, and hitherto unobtainable insights into medium-term patterns and rates of contemporary landform evolution. At Huldenberg in Belgium, despite rill incision of slope concavities and ephemeral gully incision of the valley floor, contemporary landform evolution is dominated by infilling of slope and valley concavities (rates >0.5 mm a⁻¹) and gradual lowering of slope angles as a result of tillage. In contrast, at Ansai (near Yanan) the slope is characterized by increase in slope angle over most of the length, recession of the steepest section at a rate >5 mm a⁻¹ and by increasing planform curvature. At this site, contemporary landform evolution is dominated by water erosion. The constraints on the approach are examined, with particular attention being given to limitations on extrapolation of the results and to the sensitivity of the models to parameter variation. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Submersible surveys of benthos near a turbidity cloud

Seabed impacted by settling solids from a turbidity plume can be surveyed by submersible using a ‘bounce’ technique to determine depth of the turbidity front, and hence depth above which benthos observations are practical. The protocol adopted was that after frontal depth was determined by a preliminary dive, the site for the benthic survey was selected. On arrival on the seabed a reconnaisance was made for the observers to agree on the identification of visible benthos. Then 100 × 1 m² transects were surveyed using a 1 m² quadrat attached to the submersible in view of the port-side observer. At the site investigated, two shallow water stations (depths 13–15 m, and 16–18 m) showing light deposits of mine tailings were seen to support associations of large epifauna and infauna. The first station had an almost single-species stand of the burrowing anenome Pachycerianthus fimbriatus at approximately 100 · 100 m^?2, and the second a diverse species association with several starfish and other species at 1–2 · 100 m^?2. Burrow holes (up to 3–5 cm diameter) of various sizes indicated that large infaunal species were present. At a deeper station (36–27 m) with heavy tailings and almost no burrow holes, a single Dungeness crab, Cancer magister, and an unidentified shrimp were seen in the 100 m² transect. Each dive site was inshore (shallower) from a routinely monitored benthos station shown repeatedly to support a population of small infauna in the tailings. Burrow holes have the potential for determining the identity and abundance of large infaunal species present if an identification system can be developed. The technique of epifaunal and burrow hole surveys (by submersible and scuba diver), combined with infaunal and sediment core surveys and contemporary theory on infaunal succession, provides the potential for a procedure to map the distribution in shallow water of tailings impact and benthic recovery (succession).     

Paraglacial modification of slope form

The morphological consequences of paraglacial modification of valley-side drift slopes are investigated at six sites in Norway. Here, paraglacial slope adjustment operates primarily through the development of gully systems, whereby glacigenic sediment is stripped from the upper drift slope and redeposited in debris cones downslope. This results in an overall lowering of average gradient by up to 4·5° along gully axes. In general, slope profile adjustment appears to be characterized by a convergence of slope profiles towards an ‘equilibrium form’ with an upper rectilinear slope gradient at 29°± 4° and a range of concavities of approximately 0·0 to 0·4. After initial rapid incision, further gully deepening is limited, but gullies become progressively wider as sidewall gradients decline to c. 25°, after which parallel retreat appears to predominate. The final form of mature paraglacial gully systems consists of an upper bedrock-floored source area, a mid-slope area of broad gullies whose sidewalls rest at stable, moderate gradients, and a lower slope zone where gullies discharge onto the surfaces of debris cones and fans. Some gullies appear to have attained this final form and have stabilized following exhaustion of readily entrainable sediment within decades of gully initiation. At most sites, paraglacial activity has transformed steep drift-mantled valley sides into gullied slopes where an average of c. 2–3 m of surface lowering has taken place. At the most active sites, these average amounts imply minimum erosion rates averaging c. 90 mm a⁻¹ since gully initiation, which highlights the extreme rapidity of paraglacial erosion of deglaciated drift-mantled slopes. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A large weighing lysimeter for evapotranspiration and soil‐water–groundwater exchange studies

A large weighing lysimeter was installed at Yucheng Comprehensive Experimental Station, north China, for evapotranspiration and soil‐water–groundwater exchange studies. Features of the lysimeter include the following: (i) mass resolution equivalent to 0·016 mm of water to accurately and simultaneously determine hourly evapotranspiration, surface evaporation and groundwater recharge; (ii) a surface area of 3·14 m² and a soil profile depth of 5·0 m to permit normal plant development, soil‐water extraction, soil‐water–groundwater exchanges, and fluctuations of groundwater level; (iii) a special supply–drainage system to simulate field conditions of groundwater within the lysimeter; (iv) a soil mass of about 30 Mg, including both unsaturated and saturated loam. The soil consists mainly of mealy sand and light loam. Monitoring the vegetated lysimeter during the growing period of winter wheat, from October 1998 through to June 1999, indicated that during the period groundwater evaporation contributed 16·6% of total evapotranspiration for a water‐table depth from 1·6 m to 2·4 m below ground surface. Too much irrigation reduced the amount of upward water flow from the groundwater table, and caused deep percolation to the groundwater. Data from neutron probe and tensiometers suggest that soil‐water‐content profiles and soil‐water‐potential profiles were strongly affected by shallow groundwater. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lacustrine shore platforms at Lake Waikaremoana,North Island,New Zealand

This paper examines the morphology and processes governing the development of shore platforms at Lake Waikaremoana, North Island, New Zealand. Shore platforms at Lake Waikaremoana are recent features, and were formed when a new sequence of shoreline development was initiated, due to lowering of the lake by 5 m in 1946 for hydroelectric power development. Three predominant platform morphologies were identified around the lake. These include gently sloping platforms (c.1·5 to 3·9°), ramp platforms (c.6·8 to 9·2°), and concave ramp platforms (c.7·9 to 12°). Platform widths ranged from 11 to 31 m, with the gently sloping platforms characterized by the widest morphologies. Erosion rates were estimated using perched sandstone boulders and were found to range from 3·4 to 12·5 mm a^?1, with a mean erosion rate of 5·9 mm a^?1. Higher rates of erosion were identified at lower platform elevations, due to a greater frequency of wetting and drying cycles coincident with storm waves, while lower erosion rates were identified at higher elevations. Field evidence suggests that shore platforms at Lake Waikaremoana were likely initiated and continue to develop as a result of subaerial wetting and drying cycles. Waves, coincident with fluctuating lake levels, play an important role by removing the weathered material from the platforms, and appear to control the width of the platforms. A conceptual model of platform development is presented, and analogies are drawn between this model, and the formation of shore platforms in oceanic environments. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.