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The MARCAN project, launched last January, is working to fill a gap in our knowledge of how freshwater flowing underground shapes and alters the continental margins.

Abstract. Devastating tsunami over the last decade have significantly heightened awareness of the potential consequences and vulnerability to tsunami for low-lying Pacific islands and coastal regions. Our tsunami risk assessment for the atolls of the Tokelau Islands was based on a tsunami source–propagation–inundation model using Gerris Flow Solver, adapted from the companion study by Lamarche et al. (2015) for the islands of Wallis and Futuna. We assess whether there is potential for tsunami flooding on any of the village islets from a series of fourteen earthquake-source experiments that apply a combination of well-established fault parameters to represent plausible "high-risk scenarios" for each of the tsunamigenic sources. Earthquake source location and moment magnitude were related to tsunami wave heights and tsunami flood depths simulated for each of the three atolls of Tokelau. This approach was adopted to yield indicative and instructive results for a community advisory, rather than being fully deterministic. Results from our modelling show that wave fields are channelled by the bathymetry of the Pacific basin in such a way that the swathes of the highest waves sweep immediately northeast of the Tokelau Islands. From our series of limited simulations a great earthquake from the Kuril Trench poses the most significant inundation threat to Tokelau, with maximum modelled-wave heights in excess of 1 m, which may last a few hours and include several wave trains. Other sources can impact specific sectors of the atolls, particularly from regional sources to the south, and northern and eastern distant sources that generate trans-Pacific tsunami. In many cases impacts are dependent on the wave orientation and direct exposure to the oncoming tsunami. This study shows that dry areas remain around the villages in nearly all our "worst-case" tsunami simulations of the Tokelau Islands. Consistent with the oral history of little or no perceived tsunami threat, simulations from the recent Tohoku and Chile earthquake sources suggest only limited flooding. Where potential tsunami flooding was inferred from the modelling, recommended minimum evacuation heights above local sea level were compiled, with particular attention paid to variations in tsunami flood depth, subdivided into directional quadrants around each atoll. But complex wave behaviours around the atolls, islets, tidal channels and lagoons were also observed in our simulations. Wave amplitudes within the lagoons may exceed 50 cm, increasing any inundation and risks on the inner shoreline of the atolls, which may influence evacuation strategies. Our study shows that indicative, but instructive, simulation studies can be achieved even with only basic field information, due in part to the relative simplicity of the atoll topography and bathymetry.

Red‐billed gulls (Larus scopulinus) and southern black‐backed gulls (Larus dominicanus) exploited a large and highly visible food source provided by beaching of euphausiids (Nyctiphanes australis) and galatheid crab larvae (Munida gregaria) in Otago Harbor. The plankton strandings occurred predominantly in summer, and provided a food source of ∼270 t dry weight over 170 d along 12 km of shoreline. The largest strands (formed by M. gregaria) covered > 10 ha each, and attracted flocks of > 1,500 gulls for up to 2 d. Gull density was positively correlated with the biomass of strandings, and gull population size in the harbor increased during the peak period of stranding events.

Abstract. Devastating tsunami over the last decade have significantly heightened awareness of the potential consequences and vulnerability of low-lying Pacific islands and coastal regions. Our appraisal of the potential tsunami hazard for the atolls of the Tokelau Islands is based on a tsunami source-propagation-inundation model using Gerris Flow Solver, adapted from the companion study by Lamarche et al. (2015) for the islands of Wallis and Futuna. We assess whether there is potential for tsunami flooding on any of the village islets from a selection of 14 earthquake-source experiments. These earthquake sources are primarily based on the largest Pacific earthquakes of M w ≥ 8.1 since 1950 and other large credible sources of tsunami that may impact Tokelau. Earthquake-source location and moment magnitude are related to tsunami-wave amplitudes and tsunami flood depths simulated for each of the three atolls of Tokelau. This approach yields instructive results for a community advisory but is not intended to be fully deterministic. Rather, the underlying aim is to identify credible sources that present the greatest potential to trigger an emergency response.Results from our modelling show that wave fields are channelled by the bathymetry of the Pacific basin in such a way that the swathes of the highest waves sweep immediately northeast of the Tokelau Islands. Our limited simulations suggest that trans-Pacific tsunami from distant earthquake sources to the north of Tokelau pose the most significant inundation threat. In particular, our assumed worst-case scenario for the Kuril Trench generated maximum modelledwave amplitudes in excess of 1 m, which may last a few hours and include several wave trains. Other sources can impact specific sectors of the atolls, particularly distant earthquakes from Chile and Peru, and regional earthquake sources to the south. Flooding is dependent on the wave orientation and direct alignment to the incoming tsunami.Our "worst-case" tsunami simulations of the Tokelau Islands suggest that dry areas remain around the villages, which are typically built on a high islet. Consistent with the oral history of little or no perceived tsunami threat, simulations from the recent Tohoku and Chile earthquake sources suggest only limited flooding around low-lying islets of the atoll. Where potential tsunami flooding is inferred from the modelling, recommended minimum evacuation heights above local sea level are compiled, with particular attention paid to variations in tsunami flood depth around the atolls, subdivided into directional quadrants around each atoll. However, complex wave behaviours around the atolls, islets, tidal channels and within the lagoons are also observed in our simulations. Wave amplitudes within the lagoons may exceed 50 cm, increasing any inundation and potential hazards on the inner shoreline of the atolls, which in turn may influence evacuation strategies. Our study shows that indicative simulation studies can be achieved even with only basic field information. In part, this ...