East Arnhem Land Region

Abstract

The East Arnhem Land coast is the highest energy section of both the Northern Territory coast and the Gulf of Carpentaria. It faces east into the Gulf exposing it to the trade winds and waves. This is a remote coast with little settlement and includes Groote Eylandt and a number of smaller islands. The climate is tropical monsoonal dominated by the trades with occasional summer tropical cyclones which can form in the Gulf. A few small- to moderate-sized rivers drain to the coast delivering terrigenous sediment which are transported northwards by the waves and flooding tides, while carbonate material comprises ~20% of the beach material. The coast is a mix of low bedrock points and wave-dominated and tide-modified beaches, the former occurring along the exposed higher energy northern section of the coast where both Pleistocene and Holocene transgressive dunes blanket the hinterland. Elsewhere the beaches are tide-dominated with extensive tidal flats and more subdued barriers, with mangroves occupying the shores of the several bays including the large Blue Mud Bay. This chapter examines the coastal processes, beaches, barriers and sediment transport within a framework of sediment compartments.