Coastal processes, beach morphology, and sediments along the north-east coast of the South Island, New Zealand

Abstract

An analysis of the wave climate within Cook Strait, New Zealand, and wave refraction diagrams for the Marlborough coast between Rarangi and Cape Campbell, identify two littoral cells. Cloudy Bay in the north is dominated by a northward movement of foreshore sediments under southerly swell waves. Clifford Bay in the south is dominated by a southward movement of material under locally generated northerly seas. Beach morphology and the longshore sediment distribution, measured at 16 stations, reflect the dominance of sections of the coast by either the southerly or northerly wind/wave régimes.