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Shelf Sediment Dispersal Mechanisms And Deposition On The Waiapu River Shelf, New Zealand, Tara A. Kniskern

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The Waiapu River, located on the North Island of New Zealand, drains a small catchment and has one of the highest sediment yields in the world. The river delivers most of its annual sediment load during floods into energetic coastal waters. These conditions are favorable for producing multiple sediment transport mechanisms, including transport in positively and negatively buoyant freshwater plumes, gravitydriven flows, and resuspension. Analyses of Waiapu River shelf seabed data showed that multiple transport mechanisms influence strata formation. Fluvial sediments are initially deposited at water depths shallower than 80 m before being remobilized and deposited at greater water depths. …