The Capes Region

Western Australia's Capes Coast illustrates how inner shelf and nearshore features can modify sediment transfers: it is not just wave-driven littoral transport along the shore!

The inner shelf structure provides a crucial influence on shelf-coast sediment exchange. Here rocky formations provide a spectacular coast, robust under severe storm waves. However, the sandy beaches and dunes have reduced resilience due to low sand supply, and under projected sea level rise, their structural controls will change.

This represents the unusual case of low present-day sensitivity, but much higher susceptibility to future change and response to sea level rise.