Muriwai is on the west coast of the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is due west of the Hauraki Gulf on the east coast and about mid-way between the entrances to the Auckland harbour (north) and the Manukau harbour (south). Maori Bay (to the south) is separated from Muriwai Beach and Otakamiro Point, with its steep cliffs and rocky nesting areas. The environment under study is about 3km long, from the Okiritoto stream in the north to Maori Bay in the south. Muriwai Coastal Environment is situated at 36 49' 0" S and 174 25' 0" E.Muriwai Beach is just 42 km North-west of the Auckland CBD.
The sites where spatial variations had been caused by the interacting natural processes at Muriwai Coastal Environment was at Muriwai …show more content…
At Muriwai, the grasses are Spinnafex, Pingao, and Marram grass. The grasses grow upwards as the dune increases. During storms waves(destructive waves), waves could reach all the way to the base of the dune, undercutting it and casing the foredune to collapse and become steep. Onshore wind transports dry sand in land up the beach. The dune has a low angled front and a steep back. At Muriwai the beach is wide and gently sloping (300m). Behind Muriwai Beach there is a large system of well-established sand dunes. Grass roots stabilise the dune and stop the sand from blowing away. There is plenty of flat land behind Muriwai Beach for dunes to form and grow as they migrate inland. The gradient of Muriwai beach is 1.3 degrees. At Maori Bay, there are no dunes. There are cliffs behind the beach, stopping the migration of dunes inland therefore they don’t form. Aeolian transportation transports dry sand into dunes at the back of the beach. Maori Bay is not wide enough (100m), it’s narrow and there are cliffs, which waves come along, washing the sand away = NO DUNES. Hard Manukau Breccia is harder to erode and has formed a steep cliff, which because there is no room for dunes to form at Maori Bay. The gradient of Maori bay is 5
The sites where spatial variations had been caused by the interacting natural processes at Muriwai Coastal Environment was at Muriwai …show more content…
At Muriwai, the grasses are Spinnafex, Pingao, and Marram grass. The grasses grow upwards as the dune increases. During storms waves(destructive waves), waves could reach all the way to the base of the dune, undercutting it and casing the foredune to collapse and become steep. Onshore wind transports dry sand in land up the beach. The dune has a low angled front and a steep back. At Muriwai the beach is wide and gently sloping (300m). Behind Muriwai Beach there is a large system of well-established sand dunes. Grass roots stabilise the dune and stop the sand from blowing away. There is plenty of flat land behind Muriwai Beach for dunes to form and grow as they migrate inland. The gradient of Muriwai beach is 1.3 degrees. At Maori Bay, there are no dunes. There are cliffs behind the beach, stopping the migration of dunes inland therefore they don’t form. Aeolian transportation transports dry sand into dunes at the back of the beach. Maori Bay is not wide enough (100m), it’s narrow and there are cliffs, which waves come along, washing the sand away = NO DUNES. Hard Manukau Breccia is harder to erode and has formed a steep cliff, which because there is no room for dunes to form at Maori Bay. The gradient of Maori bay is 5