An Investigation of the Hazard Associated with the Alluvial Fans on the Kaikoura Coast, South Island, New Zealand

Three large alluvial fans on the northeast coast of the South Island between Kekerengu and the Clarence River mouth present a potential hazard to both State Highway 1 and the South Island Main Trunk Rail Line between Picton and Christchurch, which pass over top of them, and to their users. Climate changes are predicted in future for New Zealand, and may lead to longer warm dry weather periods with heavier rainfall occurrences for the east coast of the South Island. Locations of erosion, the streams' ability to transport sediment and the frequency and magnitude of hazardous fluvial sediment events associated with these alluvial fans could potentially alter due to these predicted future climatic changes, altering the potential hazard to the state highway and the railway line. The underlying purpose of this thesis is to understand the hazard posed by sediment events onto these three alluvial fans and how this may alter in relation to climate change.