The Wellington Coast: An Essay in Coastal Classification*

Cotton, C. A.

doi:10.1111/j.1745-7939.1952.tb01781.x

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Further modification of the inlet has been caused by wave action cliffing the Mesozoic greywackes which form the basement rock in the Pauatahanui catchment (Grant-Taylor 1976) and a (?one metre) uplift (Stevens 1974) in the Pauatahanui arm of Porirua Harbour caused by the 1855 "Wellington earthquake". However, Cotton (1952) believed that Porirua Harbour escaped the effects of the 1855 earthquake, and Grant-Taylor (pers. comm.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene pollen diagrams from Pauatahanui Inlet, Porirua, New Zealand

Mildenhall¹

1979

New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics

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Pollen analysis of two radiocarbon-dated sequences in Pauatahanui Basin, on the west coast of southern North Island, shows that for the last 8000 years or more a Dacrydium cupressinumdominant broadleaf-podocarp forest existed in the area. During this period D. cupressinum has slowly declined in favour of Podocarpus, Nothotagus "tusca" beech, and Metrosideros. Ascarina lucida also slowly declined. This suggests a slow deterioration of the climate, particularly from about 5000 years ago, probably due to increased frostiness and summer droughts.Knightia excelsa pollen is recorded only in the top half of both sequences. Its arrival is dated at approximately 3400 years B.P. The top of the sequences, where pollen and spores of Pteridium aquilinum, Gramineae, Compositae (Liguliflorae), Pinus, and Cupressus are abundant, clearly show the arrival of Polynesian and European man into the area.The broadleaf-podocarp forest at Pauatahanui was contemporary with a beech forest (at Wallaceville) and beech-podocarp forest (at Petone) to the east in Hutt Valley.

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confidence: 99%

Holocene pollen diagrams from Pauatahanui Inlet, Porirua, New Zealand

Mildenhall¹

1979

New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics

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“…The minimum height of 70 ft above sea level for the intense red weathering is of considerable importance in a consideration of its relation to the glacio-eustatic marine benches around Porirua Harbour. If the Porirua area has largely escaped the effects of recent differential earth movements, as suggested by Cotton (1952) and Leamy (1958), then in an interglacial, red weathering developed down to 70 ft above sea level, while the associated glacio-eustatic terrace formed at the same time, somewhat below 70 ft. The only well developed terrace lower than 70 ft is the prominent 60 ft marine terrace extending from Porirua to Titahi Bay, and its correlative, the 51 to 54 ft terrace described by Leamy (1958) in Pauatahanui Inlet.…”

Section: Red Weatheringmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Another warm period followed (Brodie, 1957, p. 641), and this in turn was succeeded by periglacial conditions at greater altitudes in the Wellington region, possibly about 11,000 years ago (Cotton andTe Punga, 1955a, p. 1011). Most of the thick clayey silt and loamy deposits at the top of each section in the Porirua area may have been deposited as loess under periglacial conditions, about the same time as solifluction deposits accumulated at greater altitudes in the Wellington region.…”

Section: Quaternary Geological History In the Porirua Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…J. Te Punga (1954) noted the intense weathering that affects both preCretaceous greywacke bedrock and superficial deposits in south-western Wellington, and considered that it could only develop with peneplanation (K Surface of Cotton, 1957) that occupied much of the later Tertiary. Te Punga also drew attention to red weathering of the greywacke bedrock and ancient greywacke gravels of the Wellington area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quaternary deposits in the Porirua Area, New Zealand

Webby

1964

New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics

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Quaternary deposits in nine sections in the Porirua area are correlated by means of red-weathering horizons, radiocarbon dates, altitude above sea level, lithologies, and erosion intervals.The red weathering of superficial deposits and greywacke-argillite bedrock is considered to have taken place in the Quaternary in a climate warmer than the present, and probably in three distinct episodes-a lengthy warm, humid period, followed later by two shorter warm, humid periods. Preceding the periods of red weathering there was at least one intense periglacial episode, indicated· by red-stained solifluction deposits. The earlier period of red weathering possibly occurred during the Last Interglacial, more than 45,000 years ago, at a time when sea level stood some 60 ft above the present. During one of the later red-weathering phases sea level probably stood at 25 ft above the present. This latter period of warm, humid conditions was followed by a cooling 37,500 years ago, by warm, wet conditions about 25,000 years ago, and then by a period of periglaciation from 23,000 to 20,000 years ago.Before the Last Interglacial, there seems to have been a period of intense tectonic activity, but later earth movements have been spasmodic and on a small scale.

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“…In the Wellington region and elsewhere uplift occurs very rapidly, particularly during earthquakes, which has the effect of stranding the cliff line above marine processes (Wellman 1967;Cotton 1969b). Cotton (1952c) initially thought this to be only a temporary interruption to the marine erosion cycle, but recent investigations of the Turakerai coastal plain indicate a series of co-seismically uplifted gravel beach ridges dating back to 6 ka (Moore 1987) which have stranded the sea-cliff beyond the reach of marine processes for most of the current sea-level highstand. Similarly, on the south coast of Wellington, uplifted shore platforms occur and despite lateral erosion rates of up to 0.15 m/yr the sea cliff is also inactive (Kennedy & Beban 2005).…”

Section: Marine Terracesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cliffed coasts of New Zealand: Perspectives and future directions

Kennedy

Dickson

2007

Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand

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About one-quarter of New Zealand's shoreline is composed of cliffs. In some areas erosion rates are sufficiently rapid to be of concern to planners, whereas other cliffs have eroded imperceptibly slowly over human timescales. This paper reviews work conducted on New Zealand's cliffed coasts, from the pioneering studies of Sir Charles Cotton, who used Davisian theoretical methods to elucidate the evolution of hard-rock coasts, to Jeremy Gibb's nationwide benchmark measurements of historical erosion rates. This review is augmented with a description of state-of-the art methods in use globally for investigating processes of cliff evolution. Key methods identified include detailed measurements using the micro-erosion meter as well as novel geophysical methods of studying cliff movement under wave loading. Such process-based studies build on previous research that has been largely confined to explanatory description and observation. It is recognised that the combined impact of such studies has been relatively muted, owing particularly to the difficulty of unravelling ambiguous processform interactions. However, the increasingly widespread availability of terrestrial and aerial remote laser scanning systems now provides an opportunity to re-invigorate such studies by extending the scale from local to regional. The paper concludes by outlining prospects within New Zealand for further research. In particular, the development and use of numerical models is seen as an important avenue both for clarifying some basic behaviours observed on cliffed coasts, and for studying the likely response of eroding cliffs to future climate change.

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The Wellington Coast: An Essay in Coastal Classification*

Cited by 14 publications

References 3 publications

Holocene pollen diagrams from Pauatahanui Inlet, Porirua, New Zealand

Holocene pollen diagrams from Pauatahanui Inlet, Porirua, New Zealand

Quaternary deposits in the Porirua Area, New Zealand

Cliffed coasts of New Zealand: Perspectives and future directions

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