Contrasting modes of shelf sediment dispersal off a high-yield river: Waiapu River, New Zealand

Recent studies of continental margins suggest that small, high-yield rivers are capable of generating shelf sediment-gravity flows, an idea that fundamentally alters our understanding of material flux from the continents to the ocean. Discharge measurements indicate that the Waiapu River, North Island, New Zealand reaches hyperpycnal concentrations (> 36 kg m− 2) on a yearly basis. This study contrasts shelf-edge basins with a broad trough along the shelf-edge off the Waiapu River, testing whether there is evidence that shelf sediment-gravity flows propagate to topographic lows. Observations and measurements through geochemical and sedimentological analyses of sediment cores, EM1002 swath bathymetry, and Chirp sub-bottom profiles suggest differing transport modalities on the outer shelf. In general a southern trough-shaped region exhibits high terrigenous inputs and non-steady-state 210Pb profiles, whereas the northern basins contain steady-state 210Pb profiles and increased marine influence. Sediment-gravity flows dominate accumulation in the southern region, whereas within the northern portion, surface plume sedimentation is indicated. Overall this study suggests that sediment-gravity flows could be bypassing the northern basins, perhaps a result of oceanographic influences and bathymetric steering as they seek a more direct route across the shelf.