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Interpreting estuarine change in northern Australia: physical responses to changing conditions

  • CLIMATE CHANGE AND AUSTRALIAN WETLANDS
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Abstract

Geomorphic research across the semi-arid and wet-dry tropics of northern Australia has highlighted the role of the regions’ estuaries as a “canary in the coalmine” for climate variations, with dramatic structural shifts over the Holocene. This behaviour highlights the region’s potential sensitivity to climate change and suggests the need for careful identification and interpretation of dynamics in the tropical and sub-tropical regions. However, analysis of change in these regions requires care, as a number of the basic tools applied to interpreting estuarine change in temperate regions are obscured, invalid or simply unavailable when applied in lower latitudes. This study provides a synthesis from a range of investigations across northern Australia and identifies characteristics to be considered when interpreting or predicting sub-millennial estuarine change in these regions.

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  1. Damara WA Pty Ltd, 2/19 Wotan St, Innaloo, WA, 6019, Australia

    Matt Eliot & Ian Eliot

  2. School of Environmental Systems Engineering, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Matt Eliot

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Guest editor: C. Max Finlayson / Wetlands and climate change: ecological outcomes and adaptation as shown by Australian case studies

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Eliot, M., Eliot, I. Interpreting estuarine change in northern Australia: physical responses to changing conditions. Hydrobiologia 708, 3–21 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1097-x

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