The evolution of a coastal peatland at Byron Bay, Australia: Multi-proxy evidence from the microfossil record

Taffs, Kathryn H; Logan, Brendan; Parr, J. F.; Jacobsen, Geraldine

doi:10.22459/ta32.11.2010.24

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…In addition to potential impacts of land (habitat), infrastructure and asset losses, the dune cliffs also contain variable amounts of peat, rich in organic carbon. The contributions of major carbon sources such as tundra melting (Schuur et al, 2009), fluvial erosion of upland peat catchments (Worrall, Reed, Warburton, & Burt, 2003) or landslide processes within forested mountain belts (Hilton, Meunier, Hovius, Bellingham, & Galy, 2011) have been well documented but the release of stores through coastal erosion remains poorly constrained (Taffs et al, 2012). The unit of peat has been identified throughout the GPR grid and the geometry of the contacts between the upper (to aeolian deposits) and lower (to till deposits) layers has been used to constrain the volume of peat within the dune cliffs over the surveyed section (Fig.…”

Section: Carbon Contributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The beach and dune systems that result from erosion and reworking of these deposits are thought to account for 34% of ice-free coastlines globally (Hardisty, 1994). They are widely distributed, occurring at every latitude (Barbier et al, 2011), and dominate shorelines throughout Northern Europe (de Ceunynck, 1985;Wilson, Orford, Knight, Braley, & Wintle, 2001), the coastal lowlands of Australia (Taffs, Logan, Parr, & Jacobsen, 2012;Whinam et al, 2003) and even the Great Lakes of North America (Hill, 1974) for example. Despite their pervasive distribution across European coastlines (Ritchie, 2001), the cessation of large quantities of sand to the coastal zone and the onset of marine influence has led to the widespread erosion of mature dune systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Peat accounts for up to 50% of all the carbon stored in soils globally (Holden, 2005;Limpens et al, 2008), but the rate at which it is eroded is a poorly understood component of the carbon flux (Grayson et al, 2012). Coastal peatlands, in particular, are a significant but often underrepresented component within the global carbon budget (Taffs et al, 2012). Dating and palynological evidence from peat layers within dune systems has been used to reconstruct former coastlines and make tentative connections to periods of marine transgression and regression associated with several kilometres of coastal erosion (de Ceunynck, 1985).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantification and implications of change in organic carbon bearing coastal dune cliffs: A multiscale analysis from the Northumberland coast, UK

Lim

Dunning

Burke

et al. 2015

Remote Sensing of Environment

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a b s t r a c tEroding coastlines composed of sequences of till, carbon rich peat and sand layers are characteristic of many formerly glaciated coastlines due to the interplay of relative land and sea levels. Dune cliffs cut into these materials represent one of the most sensitive systems to the processes of coastal change. Establishing appropriate scales for the quantification and analysis of change in coastal dune cliffs remains limited by the speed and nature of change, the intensity of environmental processes and the challenges of achieving adequate survey control. This paper presents the results from multi-scale analyses into the behaviour of dune cliffs on the northeast coast, UK, over a 118 year period. Repeat unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) survey differences have been used to identify and quantify system behaviour, set in context with historic map comparisons. At the landform scale, monthly dune cliff dynamics have been analysed over the course of a year with terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) in order to gain insights into the drivers of contemporary dune cliff behaviour. Finally, pseudo three-dimensional ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data are used to trace subsurface stratigraphy from which the potential extent of stored carbon (in excess of 100 t over 50 m of monitored dune cliff) at risk of release by coastal erosion over the next 50 years can be calculated. The consideration of multi-scale changes over time periods relevant to well-constrained sea level change has revealed a complex combination of failure mechanisms that have resulted in an acceleration in dune cliff recession (particularly over the last decade) and a form change to shallower, divergent profiles. This potential acceleration in contemporary dune cliff response holds significant implications for both coastal management and the contribution of this poorly quantified input to the coastal carbon flux.

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Section: Carbon Contributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantification and implications of change in organic carbon bearing coastal dune cliffs: A multiscale analysis from the Northumberland coast, UK

Lim

Dunning

Burke

et al. 2015

Remote Sensing of Environment

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“…Given the varied strengths and limitations of any given environmental indicator on its own, the advantages of using multiple proxy indicators have been underscored in a variety of palaeoecological settings, such as peatlands (Amesbury et al, 2011; Dudova et al, 2012; Poto et al, 2013), coastal wetlands (Taffs et al, 2012; Unkel et al, 2008; Williams et al, 2006), the identification and differentiation between tsunami and storm events (Chagué-Goff et al, 2012; Ramírez-Herrera et al, 2012) and characterisation of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events and changes through time (Donders et al, 2007; Gagan et al, 2004; Moy et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coastal wetlands reveal a non-synchronous island response to sea-level change and a palaeostorm record from 5.5 kyr to present

2014

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Here, we describe environmental change on Lord Howe Island (LHI; 31°30′S, 159°05′E) over the last 5500 cal. BP, derived from the analysis of the accumulating sediments in four coastal wetlands. Grain-size analyses, loss on ignition (LOI) and micrometre-resolution x-ray fluorescence (XRF) geochemical data were combined with 10 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates to determine a chronology of environmental change. Sedimentary coastal features were initiated on the drowned LHI basalt coastline after ~4500 cal. BP, which was followed by gradual development of wetland environments from 4200 cal. BP to present. Within this period, a series of high-intensity storm events are recorded, perhaps related to low-pressure systems, including cyclones and East Coast Low (ECL) events. A lack of synchronicity between the studied sites resulted from their position in the landscape relative to the coast, features within the lagoon and greater sediment availability after 2800 cal. BP as sediment filled sinks in the lagoon floor. Increasing westerly wind strength from 600 cal. BP also combined with late-Holocene falling sea levels and lagoon infilling to facilitate the rapid growth of the coastal plain at ~500 cal. BP. The coastal wetlands of LHI preserve a record of rapid changes superimposed over more gradual environmental change since the mid-Holocene. The findings of this study further the understanding of the development of this ‘World Heritage Area’ as well as provide an increased understanding of how small oceanic islands respond to rising sea levels.

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“…Previously observed positive correlations between the release of DOC from subsedimentary sources (e.g., buried peat) and CH 4 concentrations in the water column suggested a common carbon source (Aravena and Wassenaar 1993; Liu et al 2011). Submerged organic‐rich peat sediments can be found in shallow coastal waters offshore of adjoining peatlands (Delaune et al 1994; Taffs et al 2012; Kreuzburg et al 2018), where marine microbial communities can be supplied by peat‐derived DOC and SW‐derived electron acceptors (e.g., O 2 ,

{SO}_{4}^{2 -}

{NO}_{3}^{-}

). How these submerged peat deposits in the offshore areas contribute to coastal carbon cycling, however, are currently not well constrained.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon release and transformation from coastal peat deposits controlled by submarine groundwater discharge: a column experiment study

Kreuzburg

Rezanezhad

Milojevic

et al. 2020

Limnology & Oceanography

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Although the majority of coastal sediments consist of sandy material, in some areas marine ingression caused the submergence of terrestrial carbon-rich peat soils. This affects the coastal carbon balance, as peat represents a potential carbon source. We performed a column experiment to better understand the coupled flow and biogeochemical processes governing carbon transformations in submerged peat under coastal fresh groundwater (GW) discharge and brackish water intrusion. The columns contained naturally layered sediments with and without peat (organic carbon content in peat 39 AE 14 wt%), alternately supplied with oxygen-rich brackish water from above and oxygen-poor, low-saline GW from below. The low-saline GW discharge through the peat significantly increased the release and ascent of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from the peat (δ 13 C DOC − 26.9‰ to − 27.7‰), which was accompanied by the production of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and emission of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), implying DOC mineralization. Oxygen respiration, sulfate (SO 2 − 4 ) reduction, and methane (CH 4 ) formation were differently pronounced in the sediments and were accompanied with higher microbial abundances in peat compared to sand with SO 2 − 4 -reducing bacteria clearly dominating methanogens. With decreasing salinity and SO 2− 4 concentrations, CH 4 emission rates increased from 16.5 to 77.3 μmol m −2 d −1 during a 14-day, low-saline GW discharge phase. In contrast, oxygenated brackish water intrusion resulted in lower DOC and DIC pore water concentrations and significantly lower CH 4 and CO 2 emissions. Our study illustrates the strong dependence of carbon cycling in shallow coastal areas with submerged peat deposits on the flow and mixing dynamics within the subterranean estuary.Sea-level rise is considered to be one of the main impacts of climate change, with significant implications for mineralization processes within coastal wetlands (Nicholls and Cazenave 2010;Neubauer 2013;Plag and Jules-Plag 2013;Hahn et al. 2015;Wang et al. 2016). In particular, coastline retreat may cause submergence of terrestrial, organic carbonrich peat sediments. The extent of submarine peat and the process-based impacts on carbon transformation processes and exchange of trace gases in shallow coastal areas have been poorly addressed. Sediment column experiments are powerful tools to investigate subprocesses and simulate changes of environmental and hydrological conditions. These changes are accelerated by land subsidence of peatland caused by their large-scale drainage for agricultural use. Land subsidence alters the hydrologic exchange processes across the land-sea interface (Nieuwenhuis and Schokking 1997;Hooijer et al. 2012) including changes in surficial runoff, subsurface mixing, and submarine groundwater discharge (SGD).SGD is comprised of all flow of water from the seabed into the coastal ocean, predominantly recirculated seawater (SW), driven by wave action, density gradients, and sea-level dynamics (Robinson et al.

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The evolution of a coastal peatland at Byron Bay, Australia: Multi-proxy evidence from the microfossil record

Cited by 3 publications

References 43 publications

Quantification and implications of change in organic carbon bearing coastal dune cliffs: A multiscale analysis from the Northumberland coast, UK

Quantification and implications of change in organic carbon bearing coastal dune cliffs: A multiscale analysis from the Northumberland coast, UK

Coastal wetlands reveal a non-synchronous island response to sea-level change and a palaeostorm record from 5.5 kyr to present

Carbon release and transformation from coastal peat deposits controlled by submarine groundwater discharge: a column experiment study

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