Chapter 8 - Coasts: the mobile interface between land and sea Book
- Author
- Williams PW
- Year
- 2017
- Journal / Source
- New Zealand Landscape: behind the scene
- Publisher / Organisation
- Elsevier
- Pages
- 337-403
- Summary
- New Zealand Landscape: Behind the Scene tells the story of New Zealand through the subject of geomorphology, a branch of earth science at the interface of geology and geography. Geomorphology is informally described as the ‘science of scenery’, and as with every science, ideas evolve as the research frontier advances. Users will find an early 21st century interpretation of the New Zealand landscape, an interpretation that rests on, and draws from, a rich foundation of ideas bequeathed by predecessors who have had the privilege of exploring, researching, and enjoying this corner of the Pacific. Chapter 8 on coasts. This chapter examines processes in the coastal zone, including wave environment, sea-level change, origin and movement of coastal sediment, beach processes and tectonic effects, and then considers responses along mobile sandy shores, in tidal inlets and along rocky coastlines. Coastal landscapes are shaped by on-going processes, including the interaction of marine and tectonic effects, but in some cases may also have a long and complex inheritance. The ria coastline of the Marlborough Sounds is the net result of tilting and subsidence of a fluvial landscape since the Early Quaternary; coastal landscape evolution in some complex embayments such as Whanganui Inlet extends from at least the Early Quaternary, and at Kaipara the development of the harbour and its barriers may be traceable to events beginning in the Plio-Pleistocene. There is a "request full text" option on Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310329845_New_Zealand_Landscape_Behind_the_Scene