Physical sedimentary controls on subtropical coastal and shelf sedimentary systems: Initial application in conceptual models and computer visualizations to support archaeology

Abstract

AbstractAdvances in digital spatial analysis and 3D photorealistic modeling offer the potential to create virtual interpretations of the now inundated landscapes of NW Australia. While this provides a useful template for potential late Pleistocene and early Holocene coastal occupation on the shelf, we stress the importance of understanding sediment dynamics as a primary control for terrain modelling, particularly at the scale of human ecosystem dynamics. We briefly review six major drivers of change upon tropical and semi‐tropical continental shelves and coastlines, and some of the typical coastal geomorphologies associated with each. We then hypothesize how these drivers might have varied on the NW Shelf of Australia since 65 ka, and then apply the logic to the Barrow Island region, to form some “end‐member” visualizations of coastal change in the early Holocene. The visualizations indicate a high degree of variability in coastal morphology, particularly through the post‐glacial period, which is likely to have radically changed the capacity of the coastline to provide resources for human use during that period. Hence, rather than considering any single visualization as being absolute, end‐member visualizations should be used to generate testable hypotheses that are reviewed repeatedly in the light of new physical, environmental, and archaeological information.