GEOS1130 : Port Hacking Report - Distribution of Sediment and Microfossils in a Shallow Water  Environment - Geography Assignment Help

Assignment Task :

Learning objectives for the research project: 

By the end of this research project you will be expected to be able to: 

• Explain the processes of sediment transport and deposition in shallow marine environments

• Distinguish factors that influence the distribution of sediment and microfossils in a shallow water  environment. 

• Understand that depositional environments are dynamic systems that are constantly changing.

• Describe some of the techniques used to study recent sediments. 

• Utilise sound reasoning processes to complete a small-scale study. 

Outline of research project: 

Background information about Port Hacking  

Port Hacking is a large, branching estuary, located about 24 km south of Sydney. It is fed by the Hacking  River and several small creeks. The Hacking River is 42 km long and drains the largely uninhabited Royal  National Park to the south, and the suburbs of the Sutherland Shire to the north. 

As a drowned river valley, Port Hacking has been affected by fluctuating sea levels over the past 2 million  years. When the sea level was low, the Hacking River gouged a deep valley, and the deepest part of the  Hacking River Valley is 95 m below sea level off Port Hacking Point. During these low sea level periods, the  river carried sediment and deposited it 6-8 km off the current shoreline. When the sea level rose, the end of  the valley was flooded by the sea and coastal processes transported sediment back into the estuary. This  pattern repeated with subsequent falls in sea level moving the loose sediment back out to sea. Sea level is  believed to have been 120 m below today’s level at 18,000 years ago. Between 18,000 and 6,000 years ago  the sea level rose and has since remained more or less at its current height.  

There are currently 160 million tonnes of fine-grained sand with local concentrations of shell fragments in  the estuary. The estuary hosts seagrass beds that are important nurseries and hatcheries for fish. These  seagrass beds require stable shoals, and their presence in turn helps to stabilise the sandbars. Mangrove  forests in parts of the estuary perform a similar function. 

Within Port Hacking, waves and tidal currents provide sufficient energy for the movement of sediment in a  continuous attempt to reach and maintain a condition of equilibrium. Thus shoals and tidal channels are  formed and slowly change and shift in response to new conditions. This constant shifting of sediment causes  problems with navigation for larger boats, a problem recognised since 1851. At various times over the past  150 years, dredging has occurred in some areas in an attempt to solve the problem. 

The project  

There has been some debate as to whether the sediment in Port Hacking comes from the present ocean, or  was deposited in Port Hacking during the last fall in sea level, or comes from present erosion off the land e.g.  the Hacking River catchment, or erosion from the present foreshore areas. The northern parts of the shoreline  are heavily urbanised, while the southern shore is mostly bushland in the Royal National Park. Your reports  will focus on identifying the source of the sediments in various parts of the estuary, as well as the transport  and depositional processes which determine the distribution of the sediments within the estuary.

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