Holocene coastal evolution: Barriers, beach ridges, and tidal flats of South Australia

Abstract

Coastal evolution following the Holocene marine transgression in South Australia is examined under three contrasting coastal environments: the high-energy, microtidal southeast coast, and the Holocene barrier system of the Sir Richard and Younghusband peninsulas; the sandy deposits of the moderate-energy eastern Gulf St Vincent around the metropolitan Adelaide coastline; and the rapidly prograding sediments of the sheltered subtidal to supratidal gulf environments in the low-energy Upper Spencer Gulf. Although only the Upper Spencer Gulf case study provides detailed data on the Holocene sea level change, collectively, the three case studies illustrate differences in coastal evolution following the transgression, linked to factors such as regional variations in wave energy and wind regime, tidal range, and sediment availability.