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Coastal Boulders: Introduction and Scope

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Reef-Platform Coral Boulders

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Abstract

Boulders represent a singular class of sediment, encountered in very diverse geomorphic systems. In coastal areas, they may appear as isolated exotic deposits or as a part of larger constructional features. Owing to their size, boulders are less easily reworked than finer sediments and their presence has become increasingly recognised as an important signature for high-energy marine inundation (HEMI) events. They therefore represent a valuable subject for natural hazard studies. This is especially evident along tropical coasts where coral reefs may provide large quantities of boulders that accumulate on the reef flat or farther inland. This volume explores the significance of a particular subset of coastal boulders, namely reef-platform coral boulders. While these geomorphological objects have been scrutinised in the last decade following catastrophic events like the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, they actually bear a much longer history in terms of scientific interest stretching back over two centuries.

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Correspondence to James P. Terry .

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Terry, J.P., Lau, A.Y.A., Etienne, S. (2013). Coastal Boulders: Introduction and Scope. In: Reef-Platform Coral Boulders. SpringerBriefs in Earth Sciences. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4451-33-8_1

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