Sedimentary processes,stratigraphic sequences and middens: the link between archaeology and geoheritage—a case study from the Quaternary of the Broome region,Western Australia

The cliffed and active dune coastal region of Broome provides an excellent record of Pleistocene and Holocene stratigraphy of desert environments interfacing with the Indian Ocean. The Mesozoic Broome Sandstone is the basal stratigraphic unit in the area and is overlain by Pleistocene red desert quartz sand (Mowanjum Sand). Modern coastal processes of waves, wind and tide have resulted in distinctive sedimentary bodies (stratigraphic units) clearly linked to the sedimentary environment. The Mowanjum Sand, reworked by coastal winds, generates the landward-ingressing orange quartzose Churchill Sand, or reworked by waves and abraded to white sand with the addition of carbonate grains that form the beaches (Cable Beach Sand) and with eolian action, coastal dunes or inland-ingressing white dunes (Shoonta Hill Sand). These sedimentary bodies and stratigraphic units form a template with which to locate and interpret archaeological middens and Indigenous occupation over the past 5000?years in a context of coastal occupation, coastal stability, mean sea-level changes, climate changes, and availability of marine food and freshwater. Shell middens and stone artefacts form definitive layers or horizons in relation to the stratigraphy, in places in situ, and elsewhere reworked as sheets and plumes; understanding their inter-relationships has enabled the unravelling of the archaeological history and relating Indigenous occupation to biofacies and lithofacies. The array of sedimentary, biofacies and stratigraphic units are of national geoheritage significance in their own right. The addition of archaeological deposits as stratigraphic units provides a link between geoheritage and archaeology, where the archaeological materials are viewed as part of the complex stratigraphic story, part of the coastal history, and part of the geoheritage story.     

Effect of seasonal flushing on nutrient export characteristics of an urbanizing,remote, ungauged coastal catchment

Urbanization is a primary driver of nutrient export in coastal catchments; however, estimating the rate of export from urbanizing, remote and ungauged communities with episodic rainfall characteristics has rarely been reported in tropical and subtropical areas. In this study, the coastal catchment of Roebuck Bay near Broome, northwestern Australia, was instrumented to elucidate the effect of seasonal flushing on nutrient export. A cost-effective framework involving temporary gauging and community participation led to a quantitative estimate of surface hydrology and nutrient dynamics from this urbanizing, remote and ungauged catchment. The contribution of nutrient export was larger from the older Broome town site sub-catchments compared to sub-catchments that have been progressively urbanized since 2000. A distinctive seasonal first flush phenomenon, with an initial 30% of runoff volume containing 40–70% of the nutrient load was a key feature. This indicates there are opportunities for storm-water management to minimize impacts through adopting water-sensitive urban design principles.