The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports conclude that for Australasia, without adaptation, further changes in climate, atmospheric CO 2 , sea‐level rise and ocean acidity are projected to have substantial impacts on climate sensitive systems, sectors and populations. In the context of varying geographical, social, cultural and policy contexts, this paper reviews research contributions and activities c...

Progress towards development of a river plume ecosystem basis for management of coastal resources requires a thorough understanding of the nature and spatial extent of terrestrial influences on receiving water and seabed characteristics. As a case study, we estimate suspended sediment (SS) loading rates from the Motueka River catchment into Tasman Bay, New Zealand and describe benthic characteristics along a series of transect...

Suspended sediment yields (SY) were measured at seven sites in the Motueka catchment to characterise major influences on sediment yield variation and estimate sediment delivery to Tasman Bay. Relationships between storm event SY and peak flow were used with long‐term flow records to calculate SY. At large catchment scale, there were clear differences in SY related to geology and rainfall, but the major influence on SY was the...