The Role of Hurricanes in the Development of Reef Islands, Ontong Java Atoll, Solomon Islands

Bayliss‐Smith, Tim

doi:10.2307/634610

Cited by 119 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…On these islands, extreme-wave events can be both constructional and erosional agents that can affect considerably shoreline morphodynamics (Bayliss -Smith, 1988;Woodroffe, 2008). According to BaylissSmith (1988), extreme-wave events are the only marine processes capable of emplacing large-volume ridges of coral rubble, while more frequent but less intense fair-weather waves are important for reworking storm deposits into stable features.…”

Section: Sediment Fluxes During Extreme-wave Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coastal evolution on volcanic oceanic islands: A complex interplay between volcanism, erosion, sedimentation, sea-level change and biogenic production

Ramalho¹,

Quartau

Trenhaile

et al. 2013

Earth-Science Reviews

151

147

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The growth and decay of oceanic hotspot volcanoes are intrinsically related to a competition between volcanic construction and erosive destruction, and coastlines are at the forefront of such confrontation. In this paper, we review the several mechanisms that interact and contribute to the development of coastlines on oceanic island volcanoes, and how these processes evolve throughout the islands' lifetime. Volcanic constructional processes dominate during the emergent island and subaerial shield-building stages. During the emergent island stage, surtseyan activity prevails and hydroclastic and pyroclastic structures form; these structures are generally ephemeral because they can be rapidly obliterated by marine erosion. With the onset of the subaerial shield-building stage, coastal evolution is essentially characterized by rapid but intermittent lateral growth through the formation of lava deltas, largely expanding the coastlines until they, typically, reach their maximum extension. With the post-shield quiescence in volcanic activity, destructive processes gradually take over and coastlines retreat, adopting a more prominent profile; mass wasting and marine and fluvial erosion reshape the landscape and, if conditions are favorable, biogenic processes assume a prominent role. Posterosional volcanic activity may temporarily reverse the balance by renewing coastline expansion, but islands inexorably enter in a long battle for survival above sea level. Reef growth and/or uplift may also prolong the island's lifetime above the waves. The ultimate fate of most islands, however, is to be drowned through subsidence and/or truncation by marine erosion.Keywords complex, interplay, between, volcanism, erosion, sedimentation, sea, level, islands, change, coastal, biogenic, production, oceanic, evolution, volcanic, GeoQuest Disciplines Medicine and Health Sciences | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication DetailsRamalho, R. S., Quartau, R., Trenhaile, A. S., Mitchell, N. C., Woodroffe, C. D. & Avila, S. P. (2013). Coastal evolution on volcanic oceanic islands: a complex interplay between volcanism, erosion, sedimentation, sealevel change and biogenic production. Earth-Science Reviews, 127 140-170. AbstractThe growth and decay of oceanic hotspot volcanoes are intrinsically related to a competition between volcanic construction and erosive destruction, and coastlines are at the forefront of such confrontation. In this paper, we review the several mechanisms that interact and contribute to the development of coastlines on oceanic island volcanoes, and how these processes evolve throughout the islands' lifetime. Volcanic constructional processes dominate during the emergent island and subaerial shield-building stages. During the emergent island stage, surtseyan activity prevails and hydroclastic and pyroclastic structures form; these structures are generally ephemeral because they can be rapidly obliterated by marine erosion. With the onset of the subaerial shield-building stage, coastal evolution is essentially ch...

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Section: Sediment Fluxes During Extreme-wave Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coastal evolution on volcanic oceanic islands: A complex interplay between volcanism, erosion, sedimentation, sea-level change and biogenic production

Ramalho¹,

Quartau

Trenhaile

et al. 2013

Earth-Science Reviews

151

147

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“…Short-period extreme events such as tropical hurricanes, cyclones and storms have been well recognized for their ability to drive near-instantaneous geomorphic change on reef islands as a consequence of super-elevated water levels and extreme wave heights (Blumenstock, 1958;Blumenstock et al, 1961;Stoddart, 1971;Stoddart and Steers, 1977;Woodley, 1980;Woodley et al, 1981;Bayliss-Smith, 1988;Harmelin-Vivien, 1994;Williams et al, 2010). However, less well-documented are the impacts of tsunami (Kench et al, 2006b(Kench et al, , 2008 and longer period swell events (Smithers and Hoeke, 2014) in forcing changes to islands at timescales of seconds to days.…”

Section: Extreme Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kench et al (2005) shows Maldivian reef islands formed in a constrained 1,500 year period in the mid-Holocene and building slowed dramatically 3,500 years ago. Additionally, in storm-dominated environments island formation has been characterized by periodic deposition of storm generated rubble (Maragos et al, 1973;Bayliss-Smith, 1988;Hayne and Chappell, 2001).…”

Section: The Importance Of Sediment Supply For Island Buildingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reef Island Evolution and Dynamics: Insights from the Indian and Pacific Oceans and Perspectives for the Spermonde Archipelago

Kench

Mann

2017

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Along southwestern Sulawesi, Indonesia, the Spermonde Archipelago comprises some 120 islands of variable size and degree of anthropogenic modification. Comparable to adjacent areas in Southeast Asia, the Spermonde Archipelago is characterized by the congregation of a naturally high marine biodiversity and, at the same time, a high population density influencing the surrounding environmental conditions. As a consequence, during the last decades, research projects that have been carried out in the Spermonde mainly focused on social, ecological, political and economic interactions. However, geological and geomorphological aspects of the coral reef islands are less well understood and there have been few studies undertaken since the pioneering work of Umbgrove, Kuenen, and Verstappen in the Indonesian archipelago in the early to mid-twentieth century. Here we review the existing studies, with a focus on the Spermonde Archipelago, and reconcile them with more recent works on reef island evolution and dynamics from the Indian and Pacific Oceans. This synthesis shows that reef islands in the Spermonde Archipelago are well suited for geomorphological investigations, and provides perspectives for future reef island research in that area that will have global interest. We identify four research priorities: (1) To identify the timing and chronology of island formation; (2) Improved understanding of carbonate budgets and sediment generation that contribute to island building; (3) Document morphological changes in reef islands at seasonal to decadal timescales, and; (4) Quantify the process regime that drives sediment transport and island change with particular focus on the role of different monsoon seasons.

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“…Wind data for Takú Atoll do not indicate a long-term shift in wind direction [40], and tropical cyclones are uncommon between 5°N and 5°S [50]. There is no indication or anecdotal evidence that Takú Atoll was affected by waves caused by individual storms or cyclones between 1910 and 1967 [13,21]. Since the interception of meteorological monitoring in 1991, the highest wind speed recorded in the study area was ca.…”

Section: Driving Mechanisms Of Extreme Shoreline Positionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A shift in these parameters will cause a change in position of the nodal point and ultimately induce a rearrangement of the sediments [11,12]. Atoll islands thus are inherently dynamic and shoreline movement is controlled by a number of additional natural and anthropogenic influences that can result in erosion and/or accretion over different temporal and spatial scales ( [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28], Table 1). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Long-Term Changes in the Beach Width of Reef Islands Based on Temporally Fragmented Remote Sensing Data

Mann

Westphal

2014

Remote Sensing

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Atoll islands are subject to a variety of processes that influence their geomorphological development. Analysis of historical shoreline changes using remotely sensed images has become an efficient approach to both quantify past changes and estimate future island response. However, the detection of long-term changes in beach width is challenging mainly for two reasons: first, data availability is limited for many remote Pacific islands. Second, beach environments are highly dynamic and strongly influenced by seasonal or episodic shoreline oscillations. Consequently, remote-sensing studies on beach morphodynamics of atoll islands deal with dynamic features covered by a low sampling frequency. Here we present a study of beach dynamics for nine islands on Takú Atoll, Papua New Guinea, over a seven-decade period. A considerable chronological gap between aerial photographs and satellite images was addressed by applying a new method that reweighted positions of the beach limit by identifying "outlier" shoreline positions. On top of natural beach variability observed along the reweighted beach sections, we found that one third of the analyzed islands show a statistically significant decrease in reweighted beach width since 1943. The total loss of beach area for all islands corresponds to 44% of the initial beach area. Variable shoreline trajectories suggest that changes in beach width on Takú Atoll are dependent on local control (that is, human activity and longshore sediment transport). Our results show that remote imagery with a low sampling frequency may be sufficient to characterize prominent morphological changes in planform beach configuration of reef islands.

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The Role of Hurricanes in the Development of Reef Islands, Ontong Java Atoll, Solomon Islands

Cited by 119 publications

References 10 publications

Coastal evolution on volcanic oceanic islands: A complex interplay between volcanism, erosion, sedimentation, sea-level change and biogenic production

Coastal evolution on volcanic oceanic islands: A complex interplay between volcanism, erosion, sedimentation, sea-level change and biogenic production

Reef Island Evolution and Dynamics: Insights from the Indian and Pacific Oceans and Perspectives for the Spermonde Archipelago

Assessing Long-Term Changes in the Beach Width of Reef Islands Based on Temporally Fragmented Remote Sensing Data

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