Conceptual Models of Australia's Estuaries And
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Geoscience Australia Record 2003/09 CONCEPTUAL MODELS OF AUSTRALIA’S ESTUARIES AND COASTAL WATERWAYS APPLICATIONS FOR COASTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT David A. Ryan1, Andrew D. Heap2, Lynda Radke1, and David T. Heggie1 1 CRC for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management, Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra ACT 2601 2 CRC for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management, Geoscience Australia & Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, GPO Box 252-78, Hobart, TAS 7001 i GEOSCIENCE AUSTRALIA Chief Executive Officer: Neil Williams Department of Industry, Tourism & Resources Minister for Industry, Science & Resources: Senator The Hon. Ian Macfarlane MP Parliamentary Secretary: The Hon. Warren Entsch, MP Secretary: Mark Patterson © Commonwealth of Australia 2003 This work is copyright. Apart from any fair dealings for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be directed to the Communications Unit, Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra City, ACT, 2601 ISSN: 1039-0073 ISBN: 0 642 46766 8 GeoCat No. 47336 Bibliographic reference: Ryan, D. A., Heap, A. D., Radke, L., and Heggie, D. T., (2003) Conceptual models of Australia’s estuaries and coastal waterways: applications for coastal resource management. Geoscience Australia, Record 2003/09, 136 pp. Correspondence for feedback: David Ryan Geoscience Australia GPO Box 378 Canberra ACT 2601 [email protected] www.ozestuaries.org Geoscience Australia has tried to make the information in this product as accurate as possible. However, it does not guarantee that the information is totally accurate or complete. Therefore, you should not rely solely on this information when making a commercial decision. ii CONTENTS CONCEPTUAL MODELS OF AUSTRALIA’S ESTUARIES AND COASTAL WATERWAYS APPLICATIONS FOR COASTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ......................................................................I CONTENTS........................................................................................................................................................ III LIST OF FIGURES.............................................................................................................................................. V LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................................................VI EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................................................... VII INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................................. 1 VALUE OF ESTUARIES AND COASTAL WATERWAYS ............................................................................................ 1 HOW CAN CONCEPTUAL MODELS AID COASTAL MANAGEMENT? ...................................................................... 2 DEVELOPMENT OF CONCEPTUAL MODELS........................................................................................................... 2 DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF ESTUARIES AND OTHER COASTAL WATERWAYS..... 3 PREVIOUS CLASSIFICATION OF ESTUARIES AND COASTAL WATERWAYS ............................................................ 3 A PROCESS-BASED GEOMORPHIC CLASSIFICATION OF AUSTRALIAN COASTAL WATERWAYS............................. 4 HABITATS IN AUSTRALIAN COASTAL WATERWAYS ............................................................................................ 6 CLIMATE, SEASONALITY, AND CIRCULATION...................................................................................................... 8 EVOLUTION OF AUSTRALIAN COASTAL WATERWAYS ....................................................................................... 10 CONCEPTUAL MODEL DIAGRAMS OF AUSTRALIA’S COASTAL WATERWAYS ......................... 12 EMBAYMENTS.................................................................................................................................................... 14 Embayment: Hydrodynamics........................................................................................................................ 16 Embayment: Sediment Dynamics.................................................................................................................. 18 Embayment: Nutrient Dynamics................................................................................................................... 20 KEY FEATURES OF Embayments............................................................................................................... 22 WAVE-DOMINATED ESTUARIES ......................................................................................................................... 23 Wave-dominated Estuary: Hydrodynamics ("Positive" conditions) ............................................................. 25 Wave-dominated Estuary: Hydrodynamics ("Negative" conditions)............................................................ 27 Wave-dominated Estuary: Sediment Dynamics ............................................................................................ 29 Wave-dominated Estuary: NUtrient Dynamics ............................................................................................ 31 KEY FEATURES OF wave-dominated estuaries.......................................................................................... 33 WAVE-DOMINATED DELTAS .............................................................................................................................. 34 Wave-dominated Delta: Hydrodynamics...................................................................................................... 36 Wave-dominated Delta: Sediment Dynamics................................................................................................ 38 Wave-dominated Delta: Nutrient Dynamics................................................................................................. 40 KEY FEATURES OF wave-dominated deltas............................................................................................... 42 COASTAL LAGOONS, AND STRANDPLAIN-ASSOCIATED COASTAL CREEKS ........................................................ 43 Coastal Lagoon/Strandplain-Associated creek: Hydrodynamics ................................................................. 45 Coastal Lagoon/Strandplain associated creek: Sediment Dynamics............................................................ 47 Coastal Lagoon/Strandplain associated creek: Nutrient Dynamics............................................................. 49 KEY FEATURES OF Coastal Lagoons & Strandplain associated creeks.................................................... 51 TIDE-DOMINATED ESTUARIES............................................................................................................................ 52 Tide-dominated Estuary: Hydrodynamics: ("Positive" Conditions)............................................................. 54 Tide-dominated Estuary: Hydrodynamics: (“Negative" conditions)............................................................ 56 Tide-dominated Estuary: Sediment Dynamics.............................................................................................. 58 Tide-dominated Estuary: nutrient Dynamics................................................................................................ 60 KEY FEATURES OF tide-dominated estuaries............................................................................................ 62 TIDE-DOMINATED DELTAS................................................................................................................................. 63 Tide-dominated Delta: Hydrodynamics........................................................................................................ 65 Tide-dominated Delta: Sediment Dynamics ................................................................................................. 67 Tide-dominated Delta: nutrient Dynamics ................................................................................................... 69 KEY FEATURES OF tide-dominated deltas................................................................................................. 71 TIDAL CREEKS................................................................................................................................................... 72 Tidal Creek: Hydrodynamics........................................................................................................................ 74 Tidal Creek: Sediment Dynamics ................................................................................................................. 76 Tidal Creek: nutrient Dynamics ................................................................................................................... 78 iii KEY FEATURES OF Tidal Creeks............................................................................................................... 80 DISCUSSION - CONCEPTUAL MODELS AS A TOOL FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF ESTUARIES AND COASTAL WATERWAYS ...................................................................................................................... 81 APPLICATION OF CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING TO ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS ....................................... 83 APPLYING CONCEPTUAL MODELS TO SPECIFIC AUSTRALIAN ESTUARIES AND COASTAL WATERWAYS...........