Formation, reworking and accumulation of sedimentary deposits, Waipaoa Rver Shelf, New Zealand

This research examines dispersal processes and sediment dynamics that control strata production on the Waipaoa River margin, New Zealand, a MARGINS Source-to-Sink (S2S) focus site where discrete event beds have been found. This research combines numerical modeling of sediment dynamics, sediment-transport observations, and time-series coring with high-resolution sampling. A hydrodynamic / sediment transport model for the continental shelf is being developed to examine event- and seasonal-timescale dispersal and deposition. Seasonal variations in sediment transport and deposition across the Waipaoa River shelf are being studied during three ~4-month deployments of three near-bed tripods. During instrument site visits, shallow seabed coring is being conducted to reveal recently deposited strata using X-radiography, sedimentology, macrofaunal-density and radiochemistry.

Project publications:

Kuehl, S.A., Alexander, C.R., Blair, N.E., Harris, C.K., Marsaglia, K.M., Ogston, A.S., Orpin, A.R., Roering, J.J., Bever, A.J., Bilderback, E.L., Carter, L., Cerovski-Darriau, C., Childress, L.B., Corbett, D.R., Hale, R.P., Leithold, E.L., Litchfield, N., Moriarty, J.M., Page, M.J., Pierce, L.E.R., Upton, P., Walsh, J.P., 2016. A source-to-sink perspective of the Waipaoa River making. Earth-Science Reviews, 153, 301–334.

Hale, R.P., Ogston, A.S., 2015. In-situ observations of wave-supported fluid-mud generation and deposition on an active continental margin. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 120, 2357–2373.

Hale, R.P., Ogston, A.S., Walsh, J.P., Orpin, A.R., 2014. Sediment Transport and Event Deposition on the Waipaoa River Shelf, New Zealand. Continental Shelf Research, 86:52-65.

Corbett, D.R., Walsh, J.P., Harris, C.K., Ogston, A.S., Orpin, A.R., 2014. Formation and preservation of sedimentary strata from coastal events: Insights from measurements and modeling. Continental Shelf Research 86:1-5.

Walsh, J.P., Corbett, D.R., Kiker, J., Orpin, A., Hale, R., Ogston, A., 2014. Spatial and temporal variability in sediment deposition and seabed character on the Waipaoa River margin, New Zealand. Continental Shelf Research 86:85-102.

Funding source: National Science Foundation

People: Andrea Ogston, Rip Hale