Coastal oceanography and sedimentology in New Zealand, 1967–91

Abstract

This paper reviews research that has taken place on physical oceanography and sedimentology on New Zealand's estuaries and the inner shelf since c. 1967. It includes estuarine sedimentation, tidal inlets, beach morphodynamics, nearshore and inner shelf sedimentation, tides and coastal currents, numerical modelling, short‐period waves, tsunamis, and storm surges. An extensive reference list covering both published and unpublished material is included. Formal teaching and research programmes dealing with coastal landforms and the processes that shape them were only introduced to New Zealand universities in 1964; the history of the New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research parallels and chronicles the development of physical coastal science in New Zealand, most of which has been accomplished in last 25 years.

Keywords:

• estuary
• sediments
• tidal inlets
• beaches
• coastal erosion
• inner shelf
• tides
• currents
• waves
• tsunamis
• storm surge
• numerical modeling