Bedload Sediment Transport Dynamics in a Macrotidal Embayment, and Implications for Export to the Southern Great Barrier Reef Shelf

Keppel Bay is a macrotidal embayment on a tectonically stable, tropical coast, which links the Fitzroy River with the Great Barrier Reef continental shelf. Estuaries and deltas act as conduits between catchments and inner shelf environments. Therefore, understanding sediment transport pathways in these complex systems is essential for the management of ecosystems such as coral-reefs that are potentially vulnerable to enhanced river sediment loads. Furthermore, the morphology and sediment dynamics of subtidal sand ridges and dunes are relatively poorly characterised in macrotidal estuaries, particularly in turbid, episodic systems such as the Fitzroy River and Keppel Bay. Our sedimentological analysis of seabed samples, shear-stress modelling and three-dimensional acoustic imaging reveals that Keppel Bay is a mixed wave- and tide-dominated estuarine system. Areas of sediment starvation and shoreward transport characterise the offshore zone, whereas a complex of both active and relict tidal sand ridges, and associated subaqueous dunes, dominate the relatively protected southern Keppel Bay. Transport within this region is highly dynamic and variable, with ebb-dominated sediment transport through tidal channels into the outer bay where there is a switch to wave-dominated shoreward transport. Ultimately, bedload sediments appear to be reworked back inshore and to the north, and are gradually infilling the bedrock-defined embayment. Our characterisation of the Keppel Bay system provides a detailed example of the physiography of the seaward portion of a tide-dominated system, and shows that sediment transport in these areas is influenced by a variable hydrodynamic regime as well as relict channels and bedrock topography.

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Date (Publication)
2007-01-01T00:00:00
Citation identifier
Geoscience Australia Persistent Identifier/https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/69514

Citation identifier
Digital Object Identifier/http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2007.02.014

Cited responsible party
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
Author

Ryan, D.A.

 1
Author

Brooke, B.P.

 2
Author

Bostock, H.C.

 3
Author

Radke, L.C.

 4
Author

Siwabessy, P.J.W.

 5
Author

Margvelashvili, N.

 6
Author

Skene, D.

 7
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EGD
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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

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  • Geoscientific information

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N
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E
W


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Unknown
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  • External Publication

  • Scientific Journal Paper

Theme

  • sedimentology

  • marine

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  • AU-QLD

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

  • Earth Sciences

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  • Published_External

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

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CC-BY

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4.0

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http://creativecommons.org/licenses/

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Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem

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2018-11-01T00:00:00
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https://www.protectivesecurity.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

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Unclassified
Language
English
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UTF8

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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

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Non geographic dataset
Other

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Title

Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem

Edition date
2018-11-01T00:00:00
Website

https://www.protectivesecurity.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

Classification
Unclassified

Metadata

Metadata identifier
urn:uuid/a05f7892-edd1-7506-e044-00144fdd4fa6

Title

GeoNetwork UUID

Language
English
Character encoding
UTF8
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Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

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Document
Name

nonGeographicDataset

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Title

Geoscience Australia - short identifier for metadata record with

uuid

Citation identifier
eCatId/69514

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https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/a05f7892-edd1-7506-e044-00144fdd4fa6

Date info (Revision)
2018-04-22T08:28:33
Date info (Creation)
2009-09-14T00:00:00

Metadata standard

Title

AU/NZS ISO 19115-1:2014

Metadata standard

Title

ISO 19115-1:2014

Metadata standard

Title

ISO 19115-3

Title

Geoscience Australia Community Metadata Profile of ISO 19115-1:2014

Edition

Version 2.0, September 2018

Citation identifier
https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/122551

 
 

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N
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E
W


Keywords

marine sedimentology

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