Beach development on an uplifted coral atoll: Niue, south west Pacific

Abstract

Niue is an uplifted coral atoll in the south western Pacific characterised by erosional terraces on its coastal margin. Beaches are found around the island located in pockets at the rear of erosional shore platforms. The beaches in Niue are < 100 m long, < 25 m wide and generally less than 0.5 m thick. The beaches sit on top of an abrasion ramp that dips seaward at a similar angle to the beach. The morphology, stability and sedimentology of these beaches are investigated through laser surveying, aerial photo analysis and petrographic techniques. Surveying was undertaken in 2008 and 2010 with data compared to previous work conducted in the 1990s in order to assess the controls on sediment dep..