4th International Conference, Australia, 2007 – Field Trip

Duration  4 days (4 nights)

Leaders

• Dr Sarah Woodroffe, Durham University, UK
• Dr Scott Smithers and Professor David Hopley, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia

Contact e-mail: [email protected]

Trip Summary

This field trip took in a series of field locations and lines of evidence which have been used over the past 20 years or so to reconstruct Holocene sea-level changes along the central Great Barrier Reef coastline (Townsville to Bowen area).  We started the trip by setting the context for evolution of this prograding coastline by visiting the Burdekin delta, which provides the majority of terrigenous sediment delivered to the inner shelf over the Holocene.  We then investigate modern and fossil mangrove sediments and their usefulness as sea-level indicators, along with the development of the chenier plain in Cleveland Bay.  There was also be an opportunity to see elevated coral microatolls and fossil and modern oyster beds, which together with sedimentary evidence provide the basis for debates over the timing, amplitude and driving mechanisms for the Mid Holocene high stand and patterns of coastal evolution in this region.