Source and supply of sediment to a shoreline salient in a fringing reef environment

• Published in: Earth surface processes and landforms Vol. 44; no. 2; pp. 552 - 564
• Main Authors: Cuttler, Michael V.W., Hansen, Jeff E., Lowe, Ryan J., Trotter, Julie A., McCulloch, Malcolm T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bognor Regis Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.02.2019
• Subjects: Benthic environment; Benthos; Bioerosion; Carbonates; Climate change; Coastal fronts; Coastal morphology; Coastal zone management; Coasts; Community composition; Composition; Corals; Ecosystems; Environmental changes; Environmental impact; Fluxes; Frameworks; fringing coral reef; Fringing reefs; Future climates; Health; Holocene; Landforms; Migration; Ningaloo Reef; radiometric dating; Sea level; Sea level rise; Sediment; Sediment composition; sediment connectivity; Sediment sources; Sediment transport; Sediments; Shorelines; Surveys; Transport; Vulnerability; Wave energy; Wave power
• ISSN: 0197-9337; 1096-9837
• DOI: 10.1002/esp.4516

Reef‐associated landforms are coupled to the health of the reef ecosystem which produces the sediment that forms and maintains these landforms. However, this connection can make reef‐fronted coastlines sensitive to the impacts of climate change, given that any decline in ecosystem health (e.g. decreasing sediment supply) or changes to physical processes (e.g. sea level rise, increasing wave energy) could drive the sediment budgets of these systems into a net erosive state. Therefore, knowledge of both the sediment sources and transport mechanisms is required to predict the sensitivity of reef‐associated landforms to future climate change. Here, we examine the benthic habitat composition, sediment characteristics (composition, texture, and age), and transport mechanisms and pathways to understand the interconnections between coastal morphology and the reef system at Tantabiddi, Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Benthic surveys and sediment composition analysis revealed that although live coral accounts for less than 5% of the benthic cover, coral is the dominant sediment constituent (34% on average). Sediment ages (238U/230Th) were mostly found to be thousands of years old, suggesting that the primary sediment source is relic reef material (e.g. Holocene reef framework). Sediment transport across the lagoon was quantified through measurements of ripple migration rates, which were found to be shoreward migrating and responsible for feeding the large shoreline salient in the lee of the reef. The derived sediment fluxes were comparable with previously measured rates of sediment production by bioerosion. These results suggest that sediment budgets of systems dependent on old (>103 years) source materials may be more resilient to climate change as present‐day reef health and community composition (i.e. sources of ‘new’ carbonate production) have limited influence on sediment supply. Therefore, the vulnerability of reef‐associated landforms in these systems will be dictated by future changes to mechanisms of sediment generation (e.g. bioerosion) and/or physical processes. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Ecological, sedimentological, and sediment transport data were analysed to understand the interconnections between coastal morphology and reef ecology within a fringing reef system. The sediment reservoir is predominantly derived from ‘old’ source material (≥ 1400 years old) but this material is supplied to the shoreline on modern timescales. These results suggest that sediment budgets of similar reef systems may be more resilient to climate change as contemporary reef health and community composition have limited influence on sediment supply.