Edward Bryant - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Edward Bryant

Add-Ed Studies in Geography, 2017

Daytime fog at Maddens Plain along the Illawarra escarpment south of Sydney between 1975-1990 can... more Daytime fog at Maddens Plain along the Illawarra escarpment south of Sydney between 1975-1990 can be related either to expansive cooling of air directed onshore against the escarpment, or to cloud under conditions of convective instability. Because of ground drainage, radiation fogs rarely persist into daytime. Principal component analysis of a suite of regional and local meteorological variables and fog parameters indicates that fog is related to the presence of macro-scale circulation, namely east coast lows, the passage of cold fronts or monsoonal intrusions of low pressure over the interior of New South Wales. The development and persistence of these lows are linked inseparably to the positioning and movement of anticyclonic cells across the continent. Surprisingly there appears to be little consistent relationship of either fog characteristics or the synoptic patterns favouring fog formation to phases of the Southern Oscillation.

The Tura mega-tsunami event documented from bedrock erosion and deposits on the southeast coast o... more The Tura mega-tsunami event documented from bedrock erosion and deposits on the southeast coast of Australia is not related to the Lanai tsunami events in Hawaii ca 105 ka. Instead, it forms the most recent cosmogenic mega-tsunami event evident along 600 km of coast with a probable date of 1500±85 AD. The tsunami wave approached Tura Point from the northeast, whereas 100 km northwards the direction of approach was reversed. A similar age from tsunami deposits in New Zealand facing the Pacific Ocean and at Kauai, Hawaii 7300 km to the north implies that the comet/meteorite producing the Tura event struck further east, in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. Maori legends dating around the same time support a meteorite or comet impact. A secondary fragment striking the Tasman Sea north of Tura Point, New South Wales, Australia cannot be ruled out. The resulting mega-tsunami had major erosional and deposition impacts on mainland and island shorelines in the region.

We consider various aspects of the link between solar-modulated geomagnetic activity and the Nort... more We consider various aspects of the link between solar-modulated geomagnetic activity and the Northern Annular Mode (NAM). Our results indicate that the geo-magnetic forcing of atmospheric circulation in the Northern Hemisphere is temporally and seasonally restricted, modulated by the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO), and reliant on stratosphere-troposphere coupling. When the data are restricted to January values after 1965, for years in which the January QBO is eastwards, the correlation coefficient between the geomagnetic AA index and the NAM is 0.85. These results can account for many of the enigmatic features of Northern Hemisphere circulation.

Geophysical Hazards, 2009

Abstract This paper deals with the physical and environmental effects resulting from oceanic impa... more Abstract This paper deals with the physical and environmental effects resulting from oceanic impacts by sizable comets, and the rates and risks associated with such cosmic impacts. Specifically, we investi-gate two sets of probable oceanic impact events that occurred ...

This updated new edition presents a comprehensive, inter-disciplinary analysis of the complete ra... more This updated new edition presents a comprehensive, inter-disciplinary analysis of the complete range of natural hazards. Edward Bryant describes and explains how hazards occur, examines prediction methods, considers recent and historical hazard events and explores the social impact of such disasters. Supported by over 180 maps, diagrams and photographs, this standard text is an invaluable guide for students and professionals in the field. First Edition Hb (1991): 0-521-37295-X First Edition Pb (1991): 0-521-37889-3

Australian Geographer, 1993

Remnants of the Last Interglacial shoreline occur at Middle Lagoon on the far south coast of New ... more Remnants of the Last Interglacial shoreline occur at Middle Lagoon on the far south coast of New South Wales. Relict beach sediments can be traced to a height of at least +4.8 m and are indicative of a former mean sea level of about +3 m. Thermoluminescence (TL) ages of 126 ± 13 ka and 114 ± 15 ka were determined for beach and aeolian facies respectively. Sands in the lower part of an exposure on the adjacent Gillards Beach gave TL ages of 108 ± 13 ka, but sands in the upper part of that exposure gave an age of 19.9 ± 3.5 ka. This chronological evidence of a stratigraphic unconformity in what was initially taken as pedogenic differentiation at Gillards Beach is supported by contrasting electron traps and colour centres in crystal lattices of quartz grains in these two samples. No tectonic displacement is apparent. This site provides the first evidence of the Last Interglacial sea level for 1000 km along the coast between Gippsland and Newcastle.

Australian Geographer, 1992

ABSTRACT

Australian Geographer, 1994

Page 1. A PLEISTOCENE ORIGIN FOR SHORE PLATFORMS ALONG THE NORTHERN ILLAWARRA COAST, NEW SOUTH WA... more Page 1. A PLEISTOCENE ORIGIN FOR SHORE PLATFORMS ALONG THE NORTHERN ILLAWARRA COAST, NEW SOUTH WALES BP BROOKE*, RW YOUNG*, EA BRYANT*, CV MURRAY-WALLACE** AND DM PRICE* ...

Journal of Geology, 1988

The recent detailed analyses by Aubrey and Emery (1986) of Australian sea level trends continues ... more The recent detailed analyses by Aubrey and Emery (1986) of Australian sea level trends continues their efforts to define tectonic and climatic factors worldwide that dominate long-and short-term fluctuations respectively in sea level records. These factors have included sediment and water loading on the adjacent shelf, the tectonic behaviour of plates, fluctuations in the Southern Oscillation, behaviour of currents impinging on the shelf, and river runoff. We do not object to these efforts; however we are disturbed by misrepresentations in their recent paper on Australian sea levels regarding (1) the interpretation of the nature of sea-level records, (2) the use of tectonic explanations to account for low-frequency sea level trends and (3) the somewhat incomplete and sometimes inaccurate consideration of the effects of climatic variables upon sea level fluctuations and trends.

Australian Geographer, 1990

TL determinations of the ages of aeolian sands and U/Th determinations of the ages of crusts on r... more TL determinations of the ages of aeolian sands and U/Th determinations of the ages of crusts on rock platforms in the Illawarra region, especially at Red Point, indicate that these techniques give considerable promise of a major advance in deciphering the Pleistocene coastal record in Australia. The methods of dating are outlined, and problems of laboratory and field interpretation are considered. The longstanding debate as to whether the +2 m level of platforms is modern or is a Pleistocene relict has been resolved for the Illawarra coast, where these platforms can be shown to have been formed during the Last Interglacial high stand of the sea. By inference, the +4 m level must be of at least the same age. The +6 to 7 m level was cut by about 300Ka and may be as old as Pliocene. Four aeolian units at Red Point reworked from nearby barrier beach complexes date from c. 25Ka, 45Ka, 125Ka, and 300 to >400Ka. Reconnaissance surveys and dating indicate that aeolian sands of similar ages occur elsewhere along the New South Wales coast.

Natural hazards. New York: Cambridge University, Jan 1, 1991

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, …, Jan 1, 1994

... 1). A detailed study of the morphology of 26 of these vegetated dunes has shown that most exc... more ... 1). A detailed study of the morphology of 26 of these vegetated dunes has shown that most exceed 3 m in height and range from 500 m to 3000 m in length (Thom et al., 1992). Smaller undulations also trend east-west. Steepest ...

Geophysical …, Jan 1, 2010

This paper deals with the physical and environmental effects resulting from oceanic impacts by si... more This paper deals with the physical and environmental effects resulting from oceanic impacts by sizable comets, and the rates and risks associated with such cosmic impacts. Specifically, we investigate two sets of probable oceanic impact events that occurred within the last 5000 years, one in the Indian Ocean about 2800 BC, and the other in the Gulf of Carpentaria (Australia) about AD 536. If validated, they would be the most energetic natural catastrophes occurring during the middle-to-late Holocene with large-scale environmental and historical human effects and consequences. The physical evidence for these two impacts consists of several sets of data: (1) remarkable depositional traces of coastal flooding in dunes (chevron dunes) found in southern Madagascar and along the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, (2) the presence of crater candidates (29-km Burckle crater about 1500 km southeast of Madagascar which dates to within the last 6000 years and 18-km Kanmare and 12-km Tabban craters with an estimated age of AD 572±86 in the southeast corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria), and (3) the presence of quench textured magnetite spherules and nearly pure carbon spherules, teardrop-shaped tektites with trails of ablation, and vitreous material found by cutting-edge laboratory analytical techniques in the upper-most layer of core samples close to the crater candidates.

Geographical Review, Jan 1, 2009

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