Colin Woodroffe

University of Wollongong | UOW · School of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Holocene regressive strandplains that preserve a series of former shorelines are extensive on coasts that were remote from major Pleistocene ice sheets (for example, Australia and Brazil), whereas transgressive barrier islands are typical in glacial forebulge regions (for example, North America and Europe). In strandplains, the regressive phase of...

The Ninety-Mile Beach (NMB) barrier system in southeastern Australia is the largest active barrier island system in Australia. The response of a sandy barrier system to a warming climate is dependent on the boundary conditions of sediment supply and sea level. Deposition during the Holocene can therefore provide an indication of how these barriers...

Sediment budgets on wave-dominated coastlines are important in determining shoreline behaviour and are primarily inherited from geological-scale coastal evolutionary history. Sediment compartments provide a framework to conceptualise and investigate sediment budgets over a range of time and space scales. This study aims to assess the sediment budge...

Our paper explores the upper thresholds of mangrove response to sea-level rise, using observations of mangrove peat formation following the last glacial period to the present.

Mangroves under sea level rise The rate of sea level rise has doubled from 1.8 millimeters per year over the 20th century to ∼3.4 millimeters per year in recent years. Saintilan et al. investigated the likely effects of this increasing rate of rise on coastal mangrove forest, a tropical ecosystem of key importance for coastal protection (see the Pe...

The potential response of shoreface depositional environments to sea level rise over the present century and beyond remains poorly understood. The shoreface is shaped by wave action across a sedimentary seabed and may aggrade or deflate depending on the balance between time-averaged wave energy and the availability and character of sediment, within...

Extreme storms present a major risk to coasts. Increasing populations worldwide, together with sea level rise, exacerbate concerns for coastal settlements, but the low frequency of extreme storms makes an assessment of risk difficult. In southeast Australia, the severest beach retreat on record relates to a series of extratropical cyclones in the 1...

There has been an increase in drownings over recent decades in Australia, particularly among rock fishers swept from the edge of rock platforms. Platform morphology is central to understanding what makes one stretch of coastline more hazardous than another. This paper describes the development of an easily replicable site-specific risk index for ro...

Coastal wetlands (mangrove, tidal marsh and seagrass) sustain the highest rates of carbon sequestration per unit area of all natural systems1,2, primarily because of their comparatively high productivity and preservation of organic carbon within sedimentary substrates³. Climate change and associated relative sea-level rise (RSLR) have been proposed...

Northeastern Queensland is a far-field site from ice caps formed during the Last Glacial. However, the region has experienced glacio-hydroisostatically driven coastal elevation change during the Holocene that generated a distinctive relative sea-level record. We tested whether this subtle vertical movement of the coast is recorded in the morphology...

Static and dynamic flood models differ substantially in their complexity and their ability to represent environmental processes such as storm tide or riverine flooding. This study analysed spatial differences in flood extent between static (bathtub) and dynamic flood models (Delft3D) in estuarine environments with different morphology and hydrodyna...

At Pedro Beach on the southeastern coast of Australia a series of foredune ridges provides an opportunity to explore the morphodynamic paradigm as it applies to coastal barrier systems using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, ground penetrating radar (GPR) and airborne LiDAR topography. A series of sandy dune–capped ridges, increasing...

Our interpretation of the depositional history of the prograded barrier at Seven Mile Beach in Tasmania, described in Oliver et al. (2017a), was based on the morphology of ridges apparent in the LiDAR-based digital elevation data and a sample of 14 optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages. Dougherty (2018) has identified gaps in the chronology...

We propose a type of a quasi‐equilibrium, which describes a convergence of the estuarine system towards a form whose planimetric orientation is along the prevailing winds. By using the microtidal Lake Illawarra in southeastern Australia as an example, we describe sediment convergent and divergent processes that induce such an equilibrium controlled...

Sea-level rise (SLR) will affect the hydrodynamics and flooding characteristics of estuaries which are a function of the geomorphology of particular estuarine systems. This study presents a numerical modelling of coastal flooding due to drivers such as spring-tides, storm surges and river inflows and examines how these will change under sea-level i...

Carbon mitigation services provided by coastal wetlands are not spatially homogeneous. The scale of assessment at which above-ground biomass is measured will directly influence carbon storage estimates. Greater confidence in estimates is obtained with approaches that describe more variation. There is a need to improve accuracy while optimising asse...

Regressive barriers persisting in the landscape over interglacial-glacial cycles are important repositories of paleoclimatic signatures such as past sea level and regional aridity. The Gippsland region of Victoria contains a multi-barrier system formed during past interglacial-glacial cycles and the late-Holocene. An extensive series of parallel fo...

The concept of coastal sediment compartments was first used in the 1960s in the United States. It has since been recognised as appropriate for defining sections of the Australian coast, but had not been uniformly adopted around the nation in the way that has underpinned management, as in other countries. In 2012, the Australian Government supported...

Many previous modelling studies have considered storm-tide and riverine flooding independently, even though joint-probability analysis highlighted significant dependence between extreme rainfall and extreme storm surges in estuarine environments. This study investigates compound flooding by quantifying horizontal and vertical differences in coastal...

Lord Howe Island and Balls Pyramid are located approximately 600 km offshore of the southeastern Australian mainland, in the subtropical waters of the northern Tasman Sea. Lord Howe Island hosts the most southern coral reef in the Pacific Ocean, and the shelves surrounding both islands feature fossil coral reefs. This study creates a seamless, high...

Accelerated sea-level rise threatens coastal wetlands; it is unclear whether sediment accretion beneath mangroves will be sufficient to keep pace. A conceptual framework, used to describe the response of reefs, can also be applied to mangroves, discriminating drowning or back-stepping with rapid rise from keep-up or catch-up under moderate rates. I...

Subtropical reefs are predicted to be dynamic areas of change under increased warming of global sea-surface temperature. A critical knowledge gap exists for deeper, mesophotic corals in these higher-latitude settings, where little is known about their spatial and depth distributions. At the latitudinal limits of coral-reef growth in the Pacific Oce...

Understanding the key factors which have influenced past shoreline behaviour at differing temporal and spatial scales is crucial for more accurately determining the potential for future erosion and coastal setback within defined coastal compartments. In light of this recent focus on compartment-scale coastal management, this work emphasises the imp...

LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) has been used to investigate coastal landform morphology, evolution, and change for almost a decade. Repeated airborne LiDAR surveys can provide the scientific community with significant observations of how shorelines have evolved, which may then enable forecasts of future patterns of change. However, there have...

Previous modelling studies have considered storm-tide and riverine flooding independently, even though joint-probability analysis highlighted significant dependence between extreme rainfall and extreme storm surges in estuarine environments. This study investigates compound flooding by quantifying horizontal and vertical differences in coastal floo...

A 2007 earthquake in the western Solomon Islands resulted in a localised subsidence event in which sea level (relative to the previous coastal settings) rose approximately 30–70 cm, providing insight into impacts of future rapid changes to sea level on coastal ecosystems. Here, we show that increasing sea level by 30–70 cm can have contrasting impa...

Prograded barriers are distinctive coastal landforms preserving the position of past shorelines as low relief, shore-parallel ridges composed of beach sediments and commonly adorned with variable amounts of dune sand. Prograded barriers have been valued as coastal archives which contain palaeoenvironmental information, however integrating the mille...

Environmental pressures from climate change and anthropogenic activities have increased the need for quantitative morphogenetic models of coasts and estuaries. These quantitative models enable geoscientists to explain and forecast coastal and estuarine morphogenetic processes. Reducing model (predictive) uncertainties requires increasing awareness...

Monitoring mangrove health and distribution requires reliable methods that can be undertaken rapidly and at a resolution that optimises costs and accuracy. The Landsat record has been used for this purpose, but its application has been limited by the capacity to provide accurate results that distinguish mangrove from adjoining communities. The Aust...

Shoreline movement caused by erosion and deposition is an emerging concern for integrated coastal zone management in the context of climate change, particularly sea-level rise. Rapid assessment techniques are needed to evaluate and warn about such threats. Landsat imagery enables monitoring large sections of shoreline at relatively coarse spatial r...

Prograded coastal barriers are accumulations of marine and aeolian sands configured into shore-parallel ridges. A variety of ridge morphologies described around the world reflect differences in origin as a consequence of differing prevailing coastal morphodynamics. The ‘morphodynamic approach’ described by Wright and Thom (1977) expounds the coasta...

Prograded coastal barriers are accumulations of marine and aeolian sands configured into shore-parallel ridges. A variety of ridge morphologies described around the world reflect differences in origin as a consequence of differing prevailing coastal morphodynamics. The ‘morphodynamic approach’ described by Wright and Thom (1977) expounds the coasta...

Prograded barriers are depositional coastal landforms which preserve past shoreline locations and have been studied in order to understand the fundamental drivers of barrier formation. This paper reconstructs the Holocene history of the Seven Mile Beach, prograded barrier in Tasmania, Australia using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating,...

Modern estuaries are part of a continuum of coastal depositional environments within which the variation in geomorphology is closely related to the dominant one of three main processes affecting sedimentation, viz waves, tides or rivers. The present location of the coast is controlled by sea-level rise brought about by the release of water from con...

Identification of areas exposed to storm-tide inundation is of importance for coastal flood risk management. In June 2016 the coincidence of a storm surge with a high spring tide caused severe inundation across the coast of NSW. Settlements in low-lying areas of estuarine environments were particularly at risk due to the potential enhancement of ex...

Balls Pyramid is a volcanic monolith rising 552 m from the Tasman Sea, 24 km southeast of the Pacific Ocean's southernmost modern coral reef at Lord Howe Island. High resolution seabed mapping of the shelf surrounding Balls Pyramid has revealed an extensive submerged reef structure in 30–50 m water depth, covering an area of 87 km². Benthic communi...

Coastal wetland vegetation is complex in form and function. Accurately mapping the spatial variation of vegetation complexity within these ecosystems is important for identifying areas of high conservation value that provide essential ecosystem services. In this study we delineate wetland vegetation, particularly mangrove and saltmarsh, to a vegeta...

A robust debate amongst coastal geomorphologists as to the processes by which beach-ridge plains around Australia have formed was initiated by a former President of the Institute of Australian Geographers. This review gives special consideration to the work of Jack L. Davies, whose academic contributions to coastal geomorphology in Australia have n...

Low-lying reef islands in the Solomon Islands provide a valuable window into the future impacts of global sea-level rise. Sea-level rise has been predicted to cause widespread erosion and inundation of low-lying atolls in the central Pacific. However, the limited research on reef islands in the western Pacific indicates the majority of shoreline ch...

This paper presents a comprehensive study of headland bypassing around seven headlands with different orientations and degrees of wave and tide-induced current exposure, located on the northern shore of Santa Catarina island, southern Brazil. It encompasses an extensive dataset including detailed in situ measurements of bathymetry, beach profiles,...

Climate change is increasing the need to characterise the vulnerability of coastal landscapes to coastal and flood hazards that result in erosion and inundation. Indices, such as the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI), have emerged as useful tools with which coastal managers can prioritise areas for further detailed assessment of vulnerability, risk...

Holocene prograded coastal barriers, comprising a sequence of relict foredune ridges, are depositional environments, which have been used to reconstruct coastal processes. Such reconstructions benefit from new techniques and technologies now available in coastal studies. This study investigated the Callala Beach prograded barrier deposit situated w...

The vulnerability of reef islands is often assessed by measuring changes in shoreline positions over time. Historical aerial photographs provide valuable information of past shoreline dynamics and are commonly incorporated in shoreline change assessment. Edge of vegetation line is the most common shoreline proxy adopted for assessments of reef isla...

Increasing value is attributed to mangroves due to their considerable capacity to sequester carbon, known as ‘blue carbon’. Assessments of opportunities and challenges associated with estimating the significance of carbon sequestered by mangroves need to consider a range of disciplinary perspectives, including the bio-physical science mangroves, so...

Increasing human pressures on coastlines and associated threats posed by sea-level rise have stimulated development of a range of different concepts and methodological approaches to assess coastal vulnerability. The first section of this paper summarizes the concepts associated with vulnerability, natural hazards and climate change. The most widely...

Quantifying carbon storage in coastal wetland environments is important for identifying areas of high carbon sequestration value that could be targeted for conservation. This study combines remote sensing and sediment analysis to identify spatial variation in soil carbon storage for Currambene Creek, New South Wales, Australia to establish whether...

Mangroves occur on upper intertidal shorelines in the tropics and subtropics. Complex hydrodynamic and salinity conditions influence mangrove distributions, primarily related to elevation and hydroperiod; this review considers how these adjust through time. Accumulation rates of allochthonous and autochthonous sediment, both inorganic and organic,...

Sea-level rise will change environmental conditions on coral reef flats, which comprise extensive habitats in shallow tropical seas and support a wealth of ecosystem services. Rapid relative sea-level rise of 0.6 m over a relatively pristine coral reef in Solomon Islands, caused by a subduction earthquake in April 2007, generated a unique opportuni...

The Mekong River Delta in Vietnam plays a crucial role for the region in terms of food security and socioeconomic development; however, it is one of the most low-lying and densely populated areas in the world. It is vulnerable to seawater incursion, flood risk, and shoreline change, exacerbated as a consequence of sea-level rise (SLR) related to cl...

The management of the Shoalhaven River, in southern Australia, is important for water supply and floodplain issues including flooding and acid sulphate soil management. Analysis of the spatial variation in rainfall was performed in order to assess temporal and geographical variability within this east Australian catchment and its relationship to la...

Considering the possibility of erosion and inundation of low-lying coastal settlements and infrastructure around the world, it is imperative to understand past coastal land-sea interactions. Holocene low-lying coastal sand ridge plains are archives of coastal behaviour and offer insights into the interaction of sediment delivery, storm history and...

Coastal communities in the Coral Triangle are increasingly threatened by climate change. Sea-level rise (SLR) will result in biophysical and socioeconomic impacts that could increase the loss of livelihoods, cultural heritage and infrastructure. Effective adaptation requires a holistic approach that incorporates scientific knowledge together with l...

palaeo‑environmental reconstructions from coral archives, relevant for understanding Australian climate extremes. The key issues for advancing this field are the need for high-resolution marine paleoclimate records to place the present in the context of past natural climate and sea level change, and to understand the impact of those changes on mari...

This paper compares multicriteria susceptibility indices applied to two wave-dominated coasts with similar geo-morphological settings, where damages related to coastal storms have been previously reported. Customised forms of the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) were used in both areas to identify segments with higher propensity to be affected by...

Salt marshes are important coastal ecosystems and this chapter describes the broader tidal-flat setting in which these landforms occur. The tidal-flat surface may comprise various surface morphologies and sedimentary structures. Those surfaces that are exposed for long periods of time develop desiccation cracks. Coastal salt marsh is a significant...

Mangrove forests are highly productive ecosystems that support both terrestrial and marine biodiversity. They are important habitats for fish and crustaceans on which humans are dependent. Mangrove tree communities are relatively species-poor along Atlantic and East Pacific shorelines, however they also comprise more diverse forests associated with...

Coastal degradation has been widely reported around the world's coasts. The observed degradation can be attributed to the intensification of a wide range of drivers of coastal change, especially an expanding global population and economy. While climate change and the resulting sea level rise will have important adverse effects, it is more difficult...

This paper addresses the coastal compartments of the eastern coast by analysing characteristics of the seven biggest catchments in NSW (Shoalhaven, Hawkesbury, Hunter, Manning, Macleay, Clarence and Richmond) and coastal landforms such as estuaries, sand barriers, beaches, headlands, nearshore and inner shelf, providing a framework for estimating s...

Holocene progadational coastal barriers are depositional environments, comprising a sequence of beach ridges, which preserve a record of progradation and coastal sediment delivery. The prograded barrier at Moruya, NSW consists of a sequence of 60 distinct relict foredune ridges formed during the mid to late Holocene as a bedrock valley infilled aft...

This chapter describes a framework that integrates geomorphological and engineering understanding of coastal behaviour in a way that can be incorporated into coastal management decisions. It describes probabilistic assessment of a range of possible outcomes and their uncertainties, which can provide planners with greater flexibility than more deter...

Sea-level rise will result in changes in water depth over coral reefs, which will influence reef platform growth as a result of carbonate production and accretion. This study simulates the pattern of reef response on the reefs around Lizard Island in the northern Great Barrier Reef. Two sea-level rise scenarios are considered to capture the range o...

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports reflect evolving attitudes in adapting to sea-level rise by taking a systems approach and recognizing that multiple responses exist to achieve a less hazardous coast.

Holocene progadational coastal barriers (also called strandplains) are depositional environments, comprising a sequence of relict foredune ridges, which provide a repository of stratigraphical and sedimentological information. The ridges preserve a record of progradation. It is necessary to consider the overall barrier morphology in order to interp...

The response of coastal wetlands to sea-level rise is receiving global attention and observed changes in the distribution of mangrove and salt marsh are increasingly associated with global climate change, particularly sea-level and temperature rise, and potentially elevated carbon dioxide. Processes operating over smaller-spatial scales, such as ra...

Oceanic plates are geologically young, forming at mid-ocean ridges and becoming deeper and older with distance away from these spreading centres, to be subducted into ocean trenches. Most of the islands that occur on these oceanic plates are basaltic, formed at hot spots, and carried into deeper water as the plate migrates. In tropical reef-forming...

Ecosystems are linked within landscapes by the physical and biological processes they mediate. In such connected landscapes, the response of one ecosystem to climate change could have profound consequences for neighbouring systems. Here, we report the first quantitative predictions of interdependencies between ecosystems in response to climate chan...

[Full text: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379114001231#] Aeolianite successions of low-gradient continental margins commonly show complex records of coastal dune deposition linked to a wide range of sea-level positions and climatic periods of the middle and late Pleistocene, recording both regional and broader-scale drivers...